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{{For|the American football player|Tom McCauley (American football)}}
{{about||the American football player|Tom McCauley (American football)|people with similar names|Thomas Macaulay (disambiguation){{!}}Thomas Macaulay}}

{{Infobox criminal
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Tom McCauley
| name = Tom McCauley
Line 7: Line 6:
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = unk.<!-- {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| birth_place =
| birth_place = Unknown
| death_date = September 14, 1865<!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_date = September 14, 1865<!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place = [[Railroad Canyon|San Jacinto Canyon]], [[Riverside County, California]]
| death_place = [[Railroad Canyon|San Jacinto Canyon]], [[Riverside County, California]]
| cause = Killed while resisting arrest
| cause = [[Gunshot wounds]]
| nationality = American
| nationality = American
| alias = James Henry or Jim Henry
| alias = James Henry or Jim Henry also McHenry
| known_for = leader [[Mason Henry Gang]]
| known_for = Leader of [[Mason Henry Gang]]
| charge = robbery, theft, murder
| charge = robbery, theft, murder
| conviction_penalty =
| conviction_penalty =
| occupation = Outlaw
| occupation = Outlaw
| death_cause =
}}
}}
''Tom McCauley'', better known by his [[Pseudonym|alias]] as James Henry or Jim Henry (? - 1865), was one of the many [[California Gold Rush]] criminals in [[Tuolumne County]] convicted of murder with his brother in 1857 and imprisoned for ten years.<ref>[http://www.calarchives4u.com/history/tuolumne/1882-5.txt ''A History of Tuolumne County, California'' B.F. Alley, San Francisco, 1882. Part V - pages 201-249.]</ref> Pardoned in 1861, he joined an [[outlaw]] gang in the [[San Joaquin Valley]] until it was broken up by the law.
'''Tom McCauley''' (1??? – 1865), better known by his [[Pseudonym|alias]] '''James Henry''' or '''Jim Henry''', was one of the many [[California Gold Rush]] criminals later a leader of the [[Mason Henry Gang]].


==Criminal career==
⚫
In 1864, now known as "Jim Henry", he was one of the leaders of the [[Mason Henry Gang]] organized by secessionist Judge [[George Gordon Belt]], that posed as [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Bushwacker#Partisan rangers|partisan rangers]] but acted as [[outlaw]]s, committing robberies, thefts and murders in the [[San Joaquin Valley]], [[Monterey County]], [[Santa Clara County]], [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz County]] and later in the counties of [[Southern California]].<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=6XQnf2JW8A4C&source=gbs_navlinks_s William B. Secrest, ''California Badmen: Mean Men with Guns'', Word Dancer Press, Sanger, California, 2007. pg. 143-147]</ref>.
Tom McCauley, his origins unknown, was one of the criminals in [[Tuolumne County, California|Tuolumne County]] convicted of murder with his brother Ed McCauley in 1857. Ed was hanged on December 11, 1857, and Tom was imprisoned for ten years.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/historyoftuolumn00lang Lang, Herbert O., ''A History of Tuolumne County, California'' B.F. Alley, San Francisco, 1882.]</ref>{{rp|216–218}} He was pardoned in 1861, and as "James Henry" was known to have been in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties in 1861–1862.<ref>[http://www.sbhistoricalsociety.com/storage/Library%20News%20Sep%202009.pdf Richard D. Thompson, THE MASON-HENRY GANG IN SAN BERNARDINO, LIBRARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2009, p.73-74 "Two men were called before Judge Parks to give testimony that they knew James Henry and that the dead man before the court was indeed him. George Woodward stated that he was personally acquainted with Henry for about six months in the years 1861-62, in the counties of San Diego, Los Angeles and San Bernardino. John McGirr testified he also knew Henry in 1861-62, in those three counties. These facts would seem to indicate that these two men rode with Henry for six months, although there may be an innocent explanation."]</ref> Later he joined an [[outlaw]] gang in the [[San Joaquin Valley]] until it was broken up by the law.


⚫
In 1864, now known as "Jim Henry", he was one of the leaders of the [[Mason Henry Gang]] organized by secessionist Judge [[George Gordon Belt]], that posed as [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Bushwhacker#Partisan rangers|partisan rangers]] but acted as [[outlaw]]s, committing robberies, thefts and murders in the [[San Joaquin Valley]], [[Monterey County]], [[Santa Clara County]], [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz County]] and later in the counties of [[Southern California]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6XQnf2JW8A4C William B. Secrest, ''California Badmen: Mean Men with Guns'', Word Dancer Press, Sanger, California, 2007. pg. 143-147]</ref>
⚫
McCauley was described by The Visalia 'Delta' of Nov. 30th 1864 as one of two secession guerrillas and murderers "who killed Robinson and 2 other men the day after the late Presidential election:"
⚫
:McCAULEY alias James HENRY - Light florid complection; full prominent forehead; dark gray eyes, large and prominent; dark hair, rather short; dark whiskers, rather thin; may have light moustache; hight, about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches; weight, 145 pounds; stooped shouldered; head thrown forward; brown coat; black hat, lopped down; had on boots; riding large flea bitten grey horse, shod all round, has collar marks; Spanish saddle, known as half ranger; no machios; small [[tapaderos|tipidarios]]; common bridle; Dragoon bit; had spurs; 1 6-shooter and common butcher knife; went by the name of Spotty, at Watsonville.<ref>[http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/link.php?action=detail&id=54550 Stockton Daily Independent, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1864 accessed from www.newspaperabstracts.com on June 21, 2011]</ref>


⚫
McCauley was described by The Visalia 'Delta' of Nov. 30th 1864 as one of two secession guerrillas and murderers "who killed Robinson and 2 other men the day after the late Presidential election:"
⚫
When the Civil War ended in April with [[Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House#Surrender|Lee's surrender at Appomattox]] the gang came under pressure in Central California. They moved into Southern California and split up. Henry with part of the gang moved into the eastern [[San Gabriel Mountains]] at [[San Sevaine Flats]] from which they began rustling, committing robbery and murder as they did.


⚫
<blockquote>McCAULEY alias James HENRY - Light florid complection; full prominent forehead; dark gray eyes, large and prominent; dark hair, rather short; dark whiskers, rather thin; may have light moustache; hight, about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches; weight, 145 pounds; stooped shouldered; head thrown forward; brown coat; black hat, lopped down; had on boots; riding large flea bitten grey horse, shod all round, has collar marks; Spanish saddle, known as half ranger; no machios; small [[tapaderos|tipidarios]]; common bridle; Dragoon bit; had spurs; 1 6-shooter and common butcher knife; went by the name of Spotty, at Watsonville."<ref>[http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/link.php?action=detail&id=54550 Stockton Daily Independent, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1864 accessed from www.newspaperabstracts.com on June 21, 2011]</ref></blockquote>
⚫
In September of that year, he and his associates were camped out near [[San Bernardino]] and sent John Rogers to town to obtain provisions. While there, Rogers became liquored up and started boasting about his outlaw connections. The locals took note and Rogers was arrested by Sheriff [[George T. Fulgham]]. The sheriff's posse found Henry camped at [[Railroad Canyon|San Jacinto Canyon]], about twenty-five miles south of town, (then just over the county line in [[San Diego County]]). At sunrise on September 14, the posse approached cautiously when Henry was awakened. He roused himself to fire three shots, striking one posse member in the foot. Henry died in a hail of gunfire, sustaining 57 wounds. His corpse was taken back to town, photographed and displayed in Old West fashion.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=D9gRgb6K3yAC&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=Sheriff+Benjamin+F.+Mathews+%22San+Bernardino+County%22&source=bl&ots=8HXiyprXeF&sig=4BaVngNVleECmuZ2avzlLffLddo&hl=en&ei=kY_EStj7GoSwsgPRvfmtCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false M. David DeSoucy, Sheriff Gary Penrod, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Arcadia Publishing, 2006. pg. 16. account of Henry shootout.]</ref><ref>According to the Los Angeles Tri Weekly News: On Sept. 14 1865 the sheriff with a posse of three soldiers and two or three citizens ran across Henry sound asleep near San Jacinto Canyon, 25 miles from town and killed him after he made some resistance wounding one man. ''California Bad Men'' p.144-146</ref>

⚫
When the Civil War ended in April with [[Battle of Appomattox Court House#Surrender|Lee's surrender at Appomattox]] the gang came under pressure in Central California. They moved into Southern California and split up. Henry with part of the gang moved into the eastern [[San Gabriel Mountains]] at [[San Sevaine Flats]] from which they began rustling, committing robbery and murder as they did.

==Death==
In September 1865, Henry and his associates were camped out near [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]]. John Rogers was sent to town to obtain provisions. While there, Rogers became liquored up and started boasting about his outlaw connections. The locals took note and Rogers was arrested by [[San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department|San Bernardino County Sheriff]] [[Benjamin Franklin Mathews]]. The sheriff's posse found Henry camped at [[Railroad Canyon|San Jacinto Canyon]], about twenty-five miles south of town.
⚫
At sunrise on September 14, the posse approached cautiously when Henry was awakened. He roused himself to fire three shots, striking one posse member in the foot. Henry died in a hail of gunfire, sustaining 57 wounds. His corpse was taken back to town, photographed and displayed in Old West fashion.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=D9gRgb6K3yAC&dq=Sheriff+Benjamin+F.+Mathews+%22San+Bernardino+County%22&pg=PA16 M. David DeSoucy, Sheriff Gary Penrod, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Arcadia Publishing, 2006. pg. 16. account of Henry shootout.]</ref><ref>According to the Los Angeles Tri Weekly News: On Sept. 14 1865 the sheriff with a posse of three soldiers and two or three citizens ran across Henry sound asleep near San Jacinto Canyon, 25 miles from town and killed him after he made some resistance wounding one man. Secrest, ''California Bad Men'' p.144-146</ref>

At the time the location of Henry's death was just over the county line in [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]]. Today the area is part of [[Riverside County, California|Riverside County]]. San Jacinto Canyon was flooded when the Railroad Canyon Dam was built in 1928. The location is now somewhere beneath the [[Canyon Lake (California)|Canyon Lake]] reservoir.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{reflist}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata
| NAME = McCauley, Tom
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1865
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Railroad Canyon|San Jacinto Canyon]], [[Riverside County, California]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCauley, Tom}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCauley, Tom}}
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:California in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:California in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Criminals from California]]
[[Category:Criminals from California]]
[[Category:People of the California Gold Rush]]
[[Category:People of the California Gold Rush]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:American people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:American outlaws]]
[[Category:American proslavery activists]]
[[Category:Death in Riverside County, California]]
[[Category:Outlaws of the American Old West]]
[[Category:Outlaws of the American Old West]]
[[Category:Gunmen of the American Old West]]
[[Category:Gunslingers of the American Old West]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in California]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by California]]
[[Category:People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States]]
[[Category:Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons]]

Latest revision as of 10:52, 30 December 2023

For the American football player, see Tom McCauley (American football). For people with similar names, see Thomas Macaulay.
Tom McCauley
Born
Unknown
DiedSeptember 14, 1865
San Jacinto Canyon, Riverside County, California
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
NationalityAmerican
Other namesJames Henry or Jim Henry also McHenry
OccupationOutlaw
Known forLeader of Mason Henry Gang
Criminal chargerobbery, theft, murder

Tom McCauley (1??? – 1865), better known by his alias James Henry or Jim Henry, was one of the many California Gold Rush criminals later a leader of the Mason Henry Gang.

Criminal career

[edit]

Tom McCauley, his origins unknown, was one of the criminals in Tuolumne County convicted of murder with his brother Ed McCauley in 1857. Ed was hanged on December 11, 1857, and Tom was imprisoned for ten years.[1]: 216–218  He was pardoned in 1861, and as "James Henry" was known to have been in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties in 1861–1862.[2] Later he joined an outlaw gang in the San Joaquin Valley until it was broken up by the law.

In 1864, now known as "Jim Henry", he was one of the leaders of the Mason Henry Gang organized by secessionist Judge George Gordon Belt, that posed as Confederate partisan rangers but acted as outlaws, committing robberies, thefts and murders in the San Joaquin Valley, Monterey County, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County and later in the counties of Southern California.[3]

McCauley was described by The Visalia 'Delta' of Nov. 30th 1864 as one of two secession guerrillas and murderers "who killed Robinson and 2 other men the day after the late Presidential election:"

McCAULEY alias James HENRY - Light florid complection; full prominent forehead; dark gray eyes, large and prominent; dark hair, rather short; dark whiskers, rather thin; may have light moustache; hight, about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches; weight, 145 pounds; stooped shouldered; head thrown forward; brown coat; black hat, lopped down; had on boots; riding large flea bitten grey horse, shod all round, has collar marks; Spanish saddle, known as half ranger; no machios; small tipidarios; common bridle; Dragoon bit; had spurs; 1 6-shooter and common butcher knife; went by the name of Spotty, at Watsonville."[4]

When the Civil War ended in April with Lee's surrender at Appomattox the gang came under pressure in Central California. They moved into Southern California and split up. Henry with part of the gang moved into the eastern San Gabriel Mountains at San Sevaine Flats from which they began rustling, committing robbery and murder as they did.

Death

[edit]

In September 1865, Henry and his associates were camped out near San Bernardino. John Rogers was sent to town to obtain provisions. While there, Rogers became liquored up and started boasting about his outlaw connections. The locals took note and Rogers was arrested by San Bernardino County Sheriff Benjamin Franklin Mathews. The sheriff's posse found Henry camped at San Jacinto Canyon, about twenty-five miles south of town. At sunrise on September 14, the posse approached cautiously when Henry was awakened. He roused himself to fire three shots, striking one posse member in the foot. Henry died in a hail of gunfire, sustaining 57 wounds. His corpse was taken back to town, photographed and displayed in Old West fashion.[5][6]

At the time the location of Henry's death was just over the county line in San Diego County. Today the area is part of Riverside County. San Jacinto Canyon was flooded when the Railroad Canyon Dam was built in 1928. The location is now somewhere beneath the Canyon Lake reservoir.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lang, Herbert O., A History of Tuolumne County, California B.F. Alley, San Francisco, 1882.
  2. ^ Richard D. Thompson, THE MASON-HENRY GANG IN SAN BERNARDINO, LIBRARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2009, p.73-74 "Two men were called before Judge Parks to give testimony that they knew James Henry and that the dead man before the court was indeed him. George Woodward stated that he was personally acquainted with Henry for about six months in the years 1861-62, in the counties of San Diego, Los Angeles and San Bernardino. John McGirr testified he also knew Henry in 1861-62, in those three counties. These facts would seem to indicate that these two men rode with Henry for six months, although there may be an innocent explanation."
  3. ^ William B. Secrest, California Badmen: Mean Men with Guns, Word Dancer Press, Sanger, California, 2007. pg. 143-147
  4. ^ Stockton Daily Independent, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1864 accessed from www.newspaperabstracts.com on June 21, 2011
  5. ^ M. David DeSoucy, Sheriff Gary Penrod, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Arcadia Publishing, 2006. pg. 16. account of Henry shootout.
  6. ^ According to the Los Angeles Tri Weekly News: On Sept. 14 1865 the sheriff with a posse of three soldiers and two or three citizens ran across Henry sound asleep near San Jacinto Canyon, 25 miles from town and killed him after he made some resistance wounding one man. Secrest, California Bad Men p.144-146
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