Edward T. "Red" Beard, (c. 1828-November 11, 1873) was a

gambler Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...

and saloon keeper of the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

Biography

Beard is the son of the man who first settled

Beardstown, Illinois Beardstown is a city in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,951 at the 2020 census. The public schools are in Beardstown Community Unit School District 15. Geography Beardstown is located at (40.012189, -90.428711) on ...

. Originally from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Beard settled in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and was for a period a man of wealth, having married well. In 1861 at the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Beard promptly left his life behind and moved west. Traveling through

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

he developed a nasty reputation as being good with a gun, and having a bad temper. By 1873 he had settled in Delano, Kansas, then a bustling town across the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

from

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. He opened a successful saloon which for a time prospered. On October 27, 1873, he became angry with a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

who was in his saloon, but who worked across the street at the saloon owned by "Rowdy Joe" Lowe. He chased the girl outside, shooting at her. After chasing her across the street, still shooting, they entered the Lowe Saloon, where he accidentally shot and wounded a patron and another girl. Lowe opened fire, wounding Beard, who died on November 11.

References

Ed "Red" BeardTihen Notes: 1873 Wichita Eagle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Ed 1873 deaths American gamblers American murder victims People murdered in Kansas People from Sedgwick County, Kansas Deaths by firearm in Kansas Year of birth missing People from Beardstown, Illinois 1873 in Kansas 1873 murders in the United States