George Coe

George Washington Coe (1856–1941) was an Old West cowboy and a gunman during the Lincoln County War. Early years George Washington Coe was born in Brighton, Iowa, in 1856. He moved to New Mexico Territory with his cousin, Frank Coe, around 1871 to work on a ranch near Fort Stanton belonging to another cousin. For a time they lived near Raton, New Mexico. The two often rode in pursuit of cattle rustlers and horse thieves. On July 18, 1876, he and Frank, accompanied by Doc Scurlock, Charlie Bowdre, and Ab Saunders, forced their way into the Lincoln County jail and took alleged horse thief Jesus Largo from Sheriff Saturnino Baca and lynched him. By 1878 Coe had leased land in Lincoln County to establish his own ranch. He and his cousin continued to battle rustlers, but now it was often in defense of their own possessions. Lincoln County War