Alexander Smith McCamant1

b. 9 January 1872, d. 19 June 1951
Alexander Smith "Eck" McCamant
photo courtesy Gladys Dillard
FatherAlexander Smith McCamant1 b. 19 Jan 1829, d. 31 Mar 1897
MotherSallie Larzalere Lucinda Beach Gardner1 b. 13 Apr 1831, d. 28 Aug 1889
Birth9 Jan 1872 Alexander Smith McCamant was born on 9 Jan 1872 in Hood County, Texas, where his father served as the county clerk.2,3,4 
Name Other  Friends knew the younger Alexander as "Eck."1 
  When Alexander was still a youngster the family moved further west, settling in Jones County, Texas. 
Marriage4 Mar 1898 He married Lula Mae Thomas on 4 Mar 1898 in Taylor County, Texas.1 
Cens-190011 Jun 1900  The couple's first child, a daughter they called Lottie, was born in Texas in Feb 1899. By the following summer the family had relocated to Grant County in the New Mexico Territory where Alexander worked on a ranch. The household also included Lula Mae's mother and younger sister Sallie. Alexander's younger brother John settled in Grant County as well.3 
Cens-Sum  Within a few years Alexander and Lula Mae moved again, this time to Lincoln County, New Mexico, where they settled in the village of Corona. They also purchased land on which they raised cattle for at least the next 35 years.

Alexander and Lula Mae's family grew to include 2 sons and 2 daughters. The 1910 census suggests two additional children may have been born and died between 1900 and 1910. The couple's oldest son, Vernon, died in 1925 as the result of a ruptured appendix. When he became ill the family rushed him to El Paso, Texas for emergency surgery but in those days there were no antibiotics to fight the massive infection and Vernon died 4 days later. He was twenty-one.

Daughter Sally married H.T. (Hulbert) Reynolds about 1925 and for some years the young couple lived with Alexander and Lula Mae. The 1930 census described Alexander as a farm owner and H.T. Reynolds as a farm laborer.5,6,7 
  What the census does not reveal is that Alexander McCamant also served as the Lincoln Co. sheriff and Hubert Reynolds as his deputy. The two men were instrumental in the 1933 discovery and capture of an outlaw named Ed "Perchmouth" Stanton and the killing of Stanton's partner Glen Hunsucker. The two outlaws had been responsible for the killing of at least two peace officers in the southwest and had attemped to hide out in Lincoln County. Another deputy sheriff involved in the gun battle was Alexander's nephew Jack Davidson.8 [son of Alexander's deceased brother Samuel McCamant] 
Cens-194020 Apr 1940  By 1940 Alexander and Lula Mae's daughter Sally had died. However her son Ted Reynolds appears to have lived with Alexander and Lula Mae. The 1940 household also included Alexander and Lula Mae's son Thomas and his wife Edith as well as their 2 children. The census taker recorded that Alexander owned his home which was valued at $1,500. The census question about highest level of education completed was left blank on Alexander's entry; Lula Mae had finished 8th grade.9 
Death19 Jun 1951 Alexander died on 19 Jun 1951 in Belen, Valencia County, New Mexico, at age 79.10 
Burial He was buried at Terrace Grove Cemetery in Belen.2 

Related Links and Images:

To learn more about Sheriff McCamant's encounter with Stanton and Hunsacker read this article: Saga of the Outlaws Hunsucker and Stantion
Also read a letter to the editor of a local newspaper written by Jack Davidson clarifying the events surrounding the 1933 shooting. It appears certain aspects of the story had been misrepresented by others and Jack, as the last living participant in the event, wished to set the record straight11

Family

Lula Mae Thomas b. Jul 1878, d. 1948
Children
ChartsDescendants of Jeremiah Gardner and Margaret Edmiston
Last Edited7 Jan 2014

Citations

  1. [S2945] Robert Gardner research, 2881 Pruneridge Ave., Santa Clara, California, 95051, email to: e-mail address.
  2. [S1777] Find A Grave Website (http://www.findagrave.com/index.html : accessed Feb. 2013). Alexander Smith McCamant, Terrace Grove Cemetery, Belen, Valencia County, New Mexico (photo of stone: Alexander Smith McCamant 1872-1951).
  3. [S3080] Alex S. McCamant household, 1900 U.S. cens., Grant Co., New Mexico, pop. sched., Carlisle Precinct, ED 56, sheet 4A, dwelling 69, family 69, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Feb. 2013. Household includes: Alex S. McCamant, b. Jan 1872, 28, marr 2 yrs, b. TX, ranch laborer; May, wife, 21, b. Jul 1878, marr 2 yrs, mother of 1 child, is living; Lottie, dau, 1, b. Feb. 1899, b. TX; Charlotte _ Thomas, mother-in-law, 57, b. Nov. 1842, wid, mother of 8 children, 6 are living, b. AL; Sallie Thomas, sister-in-law, 14, b. July 1885, b. TX.
  4. [S2594] "Public Member Trees", database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 31 Aug. 2012), "Benjamin and Fewell Ancestors" (owner: gbenjamin5), entry for Alexander "Ec" Smith McCamant (provides full date of birth and death).
  5. [S3060] Alexander McCamant household, 1910 U.S. cens., Lincoln Co., New Mexico, pop. sched., Corona, ED 113, sheet 3B, dwelling 59, family 61, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Jan 2013. Enumeration includes: Alexander McCamant, 39, marr #1, marr 12 yrs, b. TX, stock grower, cattle; May, wife, 31, marr #1, mother of 5 children, 3 are living, b. TX; Sattie, dau, 11, b. TX; Vernon, son, 6, b. NM; Sallay M., dau, 4, b. NM; Donnie Franks, teacher, 26; Elma Espivey, 33, ranch helper, b. TX.
  6. [S3061] Alexander McCamant household, 1920 U.S. cens., Lincoln Co., New Mexico, pop. sched., Corona, ED 104, sheet 2B, dwelling 34, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Jan 2013. Enumeration includes: Alexander McCamant, 48, owns home, is a farm, b. TX, stockman, cattle ranch; Lula May, wife, 40, b. TX; Vernon, son, 16, b. NM; Sallie May, dau, 13, b. NM; Thomas, son, 8, b. NM.
  7. [S3091] A.S. McCamant household, 1930 U.S. cens., Lincoln Co., New Mexico, pop. sched., Corona, ED 14-14, sheet 7A, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Jan 2013. Household includes: A.S. McCamant, 58, first marr at 25, owns home, owns radio, b. TX, farm owner; Emma, wife, 51, marr, first marr at 18, b. TX; H.T. Reynolds, son-in-law, 25, first marr at 20, b. TX, farm laborer; Sallie, dau, 24, first marr at 19, b. NM; McCamant, Thomas, son, 19, first marr at 18, farm laborer, b. NM; Edith, dau-in-law, 16, first marr at 16, b. CA; Alvin Warden, lodger, 17, b. TX, laborer; J.W. Berry, 51, b. TN, laborer. Note: this census did not record household or family numbers but did record the associated land description. This household was listed as: T1SR15E. [township 1 South Range 15 East]
  8. [S3102] Lana Payne Barnett, "The Saga of the Outlaws Glen Hunsucker & Ed "Perchmouth" Stanton", R.E.H. Two Gun Raconteur (http://rehtwogunraconteur.com/?p=9069#more-9069).
  9. [S3092] Alexander S. McCamant household, 1940 U.S. cens., Lincoln Co., New Mexico, pop. sched., Corona, ED 14-18, sheet 10A, household 220, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Feb. 2013. Household includes: Alexander S. McCamant, 69, marr, b. Texas, rancher, owns home worth $1,500, education left blank; Lula Mae, wife, 61, completed 8th grade, b. TX; Thomas A., son, 28, marr, comp. 3 yrs high school, b. NM, helper-partnership ranching; Edith H., dau-in-law, 26, marr, comp 3 yrs high school, b. Colo; Bobbie Jean McCamant, granddaughter, 7, b. NM; Thomas H. McCamant, grandson, 4, b. TX; Ted Reynolds, grandson, 6, b. NM; resid in 1935 at Carrizozo; Edward W. Walden, lodger, 68, divorced, compl 4th grade, b. TX, all except Ted Reynolds at same address in 1935 as 1940.
  10. [S2594] "Public Member Trees", database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 31 Aug. 2012), "Benjamin and Fewell Ancestors" (owner: gbenjamin5), entry for Alexander "Ec" Smith McCamant (provides full date of birth and death; includes obituary from the Albuquerque Tribune dated dated 19 June, 1951 which states, "Alexander McCamant, New Mexico retired rancher, died today at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lottle Snodgrass in Belen...).
  11. [S3296] Samuel James Davidson, "Items of interest," e-mail message from e-mail address to D. Powell, 16 Dec 2013. Mr. Davidson supplied a copy of a letter written by Jack Davidson of Corona to the editor of an undated and unidentified newspaper. The resulting newspaper entry was titled "1933 shooting is clarified."
  12. [S2250] "Texas State Death Certificates", database with digital images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : viewed Feb. 2013). Roy Vernon McCamant certificate #21496; family information provided by _ _ Miller. [not clear]