Jeff Milton

Jeff Milton, the son of John Milton, the state governor, was born in Florida on 7th November, 1861. In 1877 he moved to Texas where he worked as a cowboy on a cattle ranch. Three years later he joined the Texas Rangers and reached the rank of corporal.

In May, 1881 Milton and another man were accused of murdering W. P. Patterson, a cattleman living in Colorado City. He was not charged with the killing and by 1884 he was working as a deputy sheriff in Socorro County, New Mexico. While in this post he killed three Mexican gunmen.

Milton moved to El Paso where he became chief of police. With his deputy, George Scarborough, he killed Martin Morose, a suspected rustler. In July 1898 the two men badly wounded Bronco Bill Walters in a gunfight.

In 1900 Milton was working for Wells Fargo. In one incident he killed the outlaw, Jack Dunlap. Later he worked as a range detective, a prospector and an official in the Immigration Service. In 1930 he retired to Tombstone.

Jeff Milton died in Tucson on 7th May, 1947.