Hody Taylor (died July 1881) was an American cattle baron from Galeno, Arizona Territory.
Biography[]
Hody Taylor was originally a cattle rustler of the Wild West, but he was amnestied in order to become a Union raider during the American Civil War. Taylor was subsequently cashiered for shooting a superior officer, and he was also wanted for murder in Ellsworth, Kansas; for holdup and killings in Deadwood, South Dakota; for more killings in southeastern Wyoming; and eluded capture, with his whereabouts being unknown. Taylor went on to settle in Galeno, Arizona Territory, where he became a cattle baron with his amassed fortune and reinvented his life. He was loved and respected by the people of Galeno, as he built them a school, church, and bank and was known for his generosity; he was married to Blanche Taylor. However, he was also involved in several killings. In July 1881, he rode into Tombstone and was confronted by Sheriff Clay Hollister, who was wary of Taylor for wrecking the town and shooting two civilians (killing one of them) the last time he rode into town. Hollister insisted that Taylor get back on his horse, but Taylor threatened Hollister, saying that nobody talked to him like that, and that he would kill him. Taylor then attempted to draw on Hollister, only for Hollister to shoot him dead. Two days later, men from his hometown arrived to pick up his body, and, on 22 July 1881, the people of Taylor's home town invited Hollister to a "sheriffs' meeting" which turned out to be a trap, with Mayor Norwood Y. Melroy holding a trial for Hollister. His wife Blanche later testified at Hollister's trial after discovering telegrams from other towns identifying Taylor as a criminal, and she told the court that Galeno wasn't Taylor's home, but his conscience, as he tried to escape from his conquests and killings in Galeno and wasn't the man the locals knew him to be.
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