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Scarce partly printed ‘execution card’ from Tombstone, Arizona, 4 x 3, issued to C. L. Blackburn by Scott White, the sheriff of Cochise County. The execution invitation, dated July 28, 1900, reads: “The Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, announces that on Friday, August 10, 190, at the hour of 12 o’clock, Noon, William Halderman and Thomas Halderman. Will be Executed at the Jail Yard in this City for the Murder of Teddy Moore. You are Respectfully Invited to Witness the Execution.” Signed at the conclusion by White. In fine condition, with complete lamination to both sides, the reverse peeling, and an apparent crease to left side.
The Halderman brothers, William and Thomas Lee, were figures in one of Tombstone’s last frontier-era legal dramas and the final individuals to be buried in the town’s famed Boot Hill Graveyard. Their case arose from the 'Shootout at Wilson Ranch' on April 7, 1899, when lawmen confronted the brothers in the Chiricahua Mountains under disputed circumstances. The encounter escalated into gunfire, resulting in the death of Constable Chester Ainsworth and the mortal wounding of his deputy, Teddy Moore. The brothers fled to New Mexico but were soon captured and returned to Tombstone for trial.
Following their conviction, the Haldermans appealed their sentences, prompting President William McKinley to grant a stay of execution until October 5, 1900, which was later extended. Despite these delays—and lingering questions surrounding the necessity of the initial confrontation—they were ultimately executed by hanging on November 16, 1900, in one of Tombstone’s final legal executions. They were subsequently buried in Boot Hill, marking the last interments in the cemetery.
The Western Americana auction of Jochen Zeitz.
