Leslie Gilbert Webb

Leslie Gilbert Webb was the son of Chauncey Gilbert and Kate Cropper Webb, born in either Deseret or Fillmore, Millard County, Utah, in 1869. He was listed with his parents in the 1870 census for Fillmore, as follows: Gilbert, 33, Kate, 21, and Leslie, 1 year old. His father Gilbert was working as a cattle dealer and his personal estate was valued at $9,500. Gilbert was born in Ohio, Kate in Texas. Living 2 doors down was George W. Cropper, 23, Kate's brother, who was also working as a cattle dealer. His real estate was valued at $500 and his personal estate at $925.

By 1880, Kate, 31, was living with her children, Leslie, 11, Milo W., 9, Gilberta, 6, George Percy, 3, and Clementine, 1 year old, but Gilbert Webb was not living in the home with them. They were in Deseret, Utah, Living next door was Kate's brother, Leigh R., 34, his wife Fanny, 34, and their children Alice S., 14, George W., 12, Kate, 10, Leigh R., Jr., 8, Edgar L., 5, and Fanny, 1 year old. Leigh was working as a farmer.

Leslie married Florence Boyle in Pima, Graham County, Arizona, April 22, 1890. They had two children, daughter Lisle, born in April of 1891, and son Milo born in 1893, both born in Arizona. However, the following year, in December of 1894, Leslie Webb was admitted to San Quentin Prison in California for committing a felony of robbing a U.S. Mail Carrier in Arizona. He was working as a school teacher at the time and was 25 years old, 5'-7-5/8" tall with a fair complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair. His sentence was for a period of 10 years, and he was eventually pardoned by President William McKinley on May 29, 1917.

Leslie must have been paroled earlier than his 10 year sentence in 1894, since by 1900 he and his wife and children were living in Chicago, Illinois, and were listed as follows in the census: Leslie, 30, Florence, 27, daughter Lisle, 9, and son Milo, 7 years old. Leslie was working as a railroad contractor. At some point he and Florence must have divorced, and he moved to Mexico, as shown in his passport application described below. He may have gone to Mexico with his father, since his father was accused of a crime, and after a lengthy trial was acquitted, but was ordered into exile in Mexico, never to return to the United States. More details about the crime are shown on his father's Geni profile page.

Leslie Gilbert Webb applied for a passport in 1917 and stated that he was living in Parral, Chichuhua, Mexico, arriving on October 3, 1917, where he was residing for the purpose of Mining Operations on behalf of Alvarado Mining and Milling Company of Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, an American company, and that he had resided outside the United States at the following places for the following periods: Chihuahua City, Mexico, from 1899 to 1900, Mesa Sandia, Durango, Mexico, from January 1901 to 1907, and in Piedra de Lumbre, Durango, Mexico, from 1907 to 1913.

He stated that he wished to remain a citizen of the United States and intended to return there permanently to reside and perform the duties of citizenship within two years when disoccupied in Mexico. He requested that the passport be mailed to him in care of the Cuni Mining Company, 1202, Mills Building, in El Paso, Texas. He stated that he was not accompanied by his wife but by his two minor children, Henry Webb born in 1901 and Frank Web born in 1905. His passport was issued June 22, 1918. Previously in 1910, his two sons, Henry and Frank were living with Leslie's sister, Gilberta, and her husband, Guy Washington Rollins, in Los Angeles, California.

In 1920 Leslie, 51, was living in El Paso, Texas, with his second wife, listed as Ugine, 35, (although her name was actually Eufemia), and children, Milton, 16, Frank, 14, Bessie, 12, Leslie, 10, and Gilbert Webb, 8. Also living in their home was Eleuterio Miranda, 71, who was Eufemia's father. Leslie was working as a miner in a silver mine.

By 1930, Leslie was 61 years old and living in El Paso, Texas, at 209 Bisbee Street, a home he was renting for $40 per month. He was married to his third or possibly fourth wife, Soledad I. Lozoya Webb, 40, and his children were listed William, 17, (born to a different mother, a woman named Guadalupe), and Lillie, 9, Soledad's daughter. Also living in their home was Juana S. Webb, 20, who was listed as an adopted daughter. Soledad and the children were all born in Mexico.

Leslie died the following year, December 13, 1931, in Colonia, Chuichupa, Chihuahua, Mexico, from acute indigestion, according to the "Report of the Death of An American Citizen" form completed in Chihuahua, Mexico, on August 3, 1932. He was buried in Colonia. The local law stated that disinterment of the body was possible after seven years, with permission of the governor being required before that time. Disposition of the effects were left to his widow, Soledad l. Webb. She was shown to be living in Colonia. His relatives were listed as Mrs. Kate Webb, 5302 Baltimore Street in Los Angeles, and his brother George was also living in Colonia, Mexico. His mother was notified via letter on December 21 or 22, 1931, of his death.

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The following article is from the Eastern Arizona Courier Newspaper, and was written by Danny Haralson, columnist, October 18, 2014. It talks about the crime committed by Chauncey Gilbert Webb's son, Leslie Webb.

"Did You Know: Great Stagecoach Robbery of 1894"

It was a bitter cold day on Thursday, January 6, 1894, as the stage left Solomonville for Bowie. Ira Kempton was holding the reins and was one of the best drivers for the Layton Stage Line. Only 1 male passenger, Leslie Webb, braced against the wind rushing against the open air atop the stage. He had a shawl and lap blanket covering his frame. He was carrying cash and silver, but it was what was in the mailbag that was the scheme afoot.

The stage passed the old Mexican shack where the Safford route joined the road to Bowie and headed south. It was about 4:30 p.m. in the open flats, about eight miles north of Bowie, where the sage and mesquite trees began to thin, when the driver saw one lone man standing between the well-traveled stage tracks in the distance.

It could have been someone catching a ride to Bailey’s Well or Bowie, but then the man was holding up a gun in each hand. He had a full cover over his head and across his face. He was a short, heavyset man wearing overalls, a light checkered coat, black hat and worn boots. His attire would prove helpful in the investigation. His horse, hitched a distance away, was seen to be a black or bay.

As the horses were pulled to a stop, the man in the road said, “Throw ‘em up,” and the driver did as told, with hands heading skyward. “Just do what yer told and we all get home for beans tonight,” the robber said.

The robber had the driver throw down the mailbag, and as he rummaged through it, he seemed to find what he was looking for and then yelled, “Get the hell on,” and motioned his gun for the driver to start to cut the horses loose. They ran on down the road as the lone gunman returned to his horse and headed in the opposite direction.

In this case, the passenger was not molested and, although the driver thought only the one highwayman was involved, the passenger thought there was a second robber. The two men set off on foot toward Bowie and came upon one of the stage horses. They were able to double up on it to Bowie. Upon arrival in Bowie, the driver dispatched trailers and officers back to the scene, where it appeared only one trail was apparent.

The postmaster, D.W. Wickersham, tried to telegraph the news to Solomonville, but the line had been cut. Mr. Boyd was sent by horseback to Bailey’s Wells while Frank Van Sielen continued to Solomonville with the story about 11 p.m. Deputy Sheriff Ben Olney was in Tucson but left for Graham County upon hearing the news and arrived at the scene about daylight Sunday morning. He trailed the robber past Bailey’s Well back into the road tracks. He was able to follow the tracks until about three miles from Solomonville when a barefoot track left the road. It appeared that the shoes had been pulled from the horse.

The robbery occurred in Cochise County, but the offense was against the U.S. Mail, which made it federal. The mail consisted of money used to purchase money orders at Solomonville and Safford.

Upon arrival, the postal inspector, Mr. Waterburg, along with Sheriff Olney, who was also a deputy U.S. marshal, began the investigation, and a circumstantial case quickly developed. It appeared that none other than Leslie Webb, the passenger, had purchased the money orders in Solomonville for $390 and Safford for $200 and made them out to his brother, Milo Webb, in Deming, New Mexico. For all money orders over $50, the amount was shipped to Tucson the following day, and this was the money stolen en route. Leslie’s brother could cash the money orders and the gang would end up with cash from the robbery, and this would give them twice the original amount. This seemed to be the plan.

The postal inspector, after conferring with Sheriff George Olney and going over all the known facts, arrested Leslie Webb and Jacob Felshaw, of Pima, who were transported to Tucson. At a later date, Abram Windsor was also arrested.

Felshaw was seen riding into Pima about 2 a.m. Sunday morning. The robbery occurred about 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon, and this is considered strong evidence against him. Sunday morning, a man inquired for Felshaw at his home in Pima. His sister answered and said Felshaw was still asleep as he had just come from Bowie that night with Leslie Webb. The stage driver also identified Felshaw’s boots and overalls as those worn by the man who robbed the stage.

It was Abram Windsor, involved in the plan to some extent, who spilled the beans on the other two and took the officers to some of the stolen money. He was about twice the age of Webb and Felshaw and figured a deal was in his best interest.

Just prior to the trial on this case, another stage robbery case was heard, and one of the robbers by the name of Jack Johnson was found guilty and sentenced to life in jail. Johnson and Frank Martin had pulled off almost the same robbery at the same place just weeks after the Webb-Felshaw affair. In any case, the court was stunned when Johnson tried to sell the story that he had pulled off both robberies, since he was getting life anyway. This did not fly with the court, and even though Leslie Webb’s father, Gilbert, and his sisters testified that he was with them a few miles west of Pima on the day of the robbery, Webb and Felshaw were both found guilty and sentenced to 10 years each at San Quentin.

Since Windsor had testified against his companions, he got only 30 days and a $1,000 fine. After the verdict, Webb and Felshaw admitted the whole story to U.S. Attorney Ellinwood.

In February of 1897, applications for pardon were denied to both men, but in May of 1917, President McKinley granted pardons to Webb and Felshaw.

It is to be remembered that Gilbert Webb, father of Leslie, was considered to be the mastermind behind the Wham robbery, although he was acquitted. Leslie told friends that he had held the horses for the gang during the robbery.

Leslie Webb drifted in and out of Mexico and New Mexico. He was the one who traveled to Mexico in 1923 to retrieve the body of his father after his death. Gilbert Webb had been exiled from the United States in 1901. Leslie married three Hispanic women over the years and died at El Paso, Texas, in 1931.

Jacob Felshaw returned to the Pima area and farmed the remainder of his life, as did Abram Windsor. It is unknown if they ever spoke to each other again.

The amazing thing is that the authorities were able to catch the thieves in both of these robberies without DNA or simple telephone communication. They used the basics to set up a strong circumstantial case against them, and it worked. The police, relied on to catch the bad guys, did their jobs without the telephone or fast car or anything we are used to today. They were good at their jobs and caught the desperados despite the technological disadvantages of the time.

They did a fine job with what they had to work with and were lauded statewide in newspapers of the day. Ne’er-do-wells were admonished to stay clear of Graham County.