Thomas Tate Tobin
Encyclopedia
Tom Tobin was an American
adventurer, tracker
, trapper
, mountain man
, guide
, US Army scout
, and occasional bounty hunter
. Tobin explored much of southern Colorado
, including the Pueblo
area. He associated with men such as Kit Carson
, "Uncle Dick" Wootton, Ceran St. Vrain
, Charley Bent
, John C. Fremont
, "Wild Bill" Hickok
, William F. Cody, and the Shoup brothers. Tobin was one of only two men to escape alive from the siege of Turley's Mill during the Taos Revolt
. In later years he was sent by the Army to track down and kill the notorious Felipe Espinosa
and his brother; Tobin returned to Ft. Garland
with their heads in a sack.
, on May 1, 1823 to Bartholomew Tobin, an Irish
immigrant, and Sarah Autobees. Sarah, believed to have been a Delaware Indian
, had been widowed before marrying Tobin. She brought her son Charles Autobees (later Autobee) into the marriage. A year later, the couple had a daughter Catherine together.
trapper
. He returned to St. Louis in 1837. That year, his half-brother Tom Tobin, then 14 years old, left with Charles and his colleague Ceran St. Vrain
to return to Taos. Tom worked as a trapper and scout at Bent's Fort and in Taos. Along with his brother, Tobin worked at Simeon Turley's store, mill, and distillery at Arroyo Hondo
. He accompanied his brother Charles on trips to deliver supplies and whiskey to trappers in trade for furs. The men took the pelts to St. Louis to trade for more supplies for Turley's store. Autobees and Tobin made regular stops in places such as Fort Jackson
, Fort Lupton, Bent's Fort, and El Pueblo
.
, near Taos. He continued working for Turley, and delivered dispatches to Fort Leavenworth
for Gen. Stephen Kearny.
). They were led by Pablo Montoya
, a Mexican, and Tomás Romero, a Taos Pueblo Indian also known as Tomasito.
The Pueblo, led by Romero, went to the home of Governor Charles Bent
, broke down the door, shot Bent several times with arrows, and scalped him in front of his wife and children. They murdered and scalped several other government officials. Among them were Stephen Lee, acting county sheriff; Cornelio Vigil, prefect and probate judge; and J.W. Leal, circuit attorney.
The next day a large force of approximately 500 Mexicans and Pueblo attacked and laid siege to Simeon Turley's Mill, where Autobee and Tobin were working. Seeing the crowd approach, Autobee rode to Santa Fe to inform the occupying American forces about the revolt and to try to get help, leaving eight to ten mountain men, including his brother Tom, to defend the mill. After a day-long battle, only two of the men, Johnny Albert
and Tobin, survived; they escaped the burning mill separately on foot during the confusion of night fighting.
After his escape, Tobin and Autobee served as scouts for a company led by Capt. Ceran St. Vrain
, to find and capture the insurrectionists. Those perpetrators who were not killed in battle were tried and put to death.
, who was camped with his troops near Bent's Fort. The next year, Gilpin asked Tobin to scout for him during a planned spring campaign against the Indians. Gilpin asked Tobin to serve as a courier, carrying dispatches from the Canadian River
valley of Oklahoma to Bent's Fort.
Just before the Civil War, Maj. B.L. Beall hired Tobin as a scout to guide an expedition to find a railroad route to California. Beall described Tobin as "having a reputation almost equal to Kit Carson's for bravery, dexterity with his rifle, and skill in mountain life."
In November 1868, Gen. Penrose appointed Tobin as chief scout on an Indian-hunting campaign. Other scouts hired were Tobin's half-brother Charles Autobee, and "Wild Bill" Hickok.
(along with two cousins) moved to the San Luis Valley
from New Mexico. The Espinosas went on a killing spree beginning in 1863, murdering more than 30 Anglos in the area in retaliation for relatives killed in the Mexican-American War. A detachment of soldiers from Ft. Garland
, as well as several posses, attempted to capture the brothers, but succeeded only in killing one brother, who was quickly replaced by a cousin. Eventually, Colonel Sam Tappan
, the commanding officer of Ft. Garland, requested Tobin's help in bringing Espinosas' reign of terror to an end. He provided Tobin with a detachment of fifteen soldiers, but Tobin left them at camp, as they made too much noise on the trail. Tobin tracked the Espinosas to a camp and shot them. He cut off their heads and carried them in a sack back to Ft. Garland as proof of his success. When asked by Tappan how his trip had gone, Tobin reportedly replied, "So-so", then rolled the heads out of the sack and across the floor. The government had posted a reward for several thousand dollars (Dead or Alive) for the Espinosas, but Tobin never collected the full amount. The governor of Colorado gave him a coat like Kit Carson's and the Army gave him a Henry rifle
.
. Some years later, Tobin tried to stab Carson for abusing Pascualita; the younger man hit Tobin in the head with a sledge hammer and shot him in the side. Tobin and his son-in-law apparently reconciled a few days later, but Tobin never fully recovered from the shooting. He did outlive Billy Carson.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
adventurer, tracker
Tracking (hunting)
Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...
, trapper
Trapping (Animal)
Animal trapping, or simply trapping, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, wildlife management, hunting, and pest control...
, mountain man
Mountain man
Mountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
, guide
Guide
A guide is a person who leads anyone through unknown or unmapped country. This includes a guide of the real world , as well as a person who leads someone to more abstract places .-Guide - meanings related to travel and recreational pursuits:There are many variants of...
, US Army scout
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, and occasional bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
. Tobin explored much of southern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, including the Pueblo
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
area. He associated with men such as Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
, "Uncle Dick" Wootton, Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain , also known as Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, was a major fur trader near Taos, New Mexico, where he and his partner William Bent established the trading post of Bent's Fort. St...
, Charley Bent
Charles Bent
Charles Bent was appointed as the first Governor of the newly acquired New Mexico Territory by Governor Stephen Watts Kearny in September 1846....
, John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, "Wild Bill" Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
, William F. Cody, and the Shoup brothers. Tobin was one of only two men to escape alive from the siege of Turley's Mill during the Taos Revolt
Taos Revolt
The Taos Revolt was a popular insurrection in January 1847 by Mexicans and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. In two short campaigns, United States troops and militia crushed the rebellion of the Mexicans and...
. In later years he was sent by the Army to track down and kill the notorious Felipe Espinosa
Filipe Espinosa
Felipe Nerio Espinosa was a notorious murderer who during the summer of 1863 killed two dozen people in Colorado Territory.Espinosa was born in Veracruz, Mexico. As a child during the Mexican-American War , Espinosa lost six family members when his native city was shelled by the U.S. Navy...
and his brother; Tobin returned to Ft. Garland
Fort Garland, Colorado
Fort Garland is a census-designated place in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The population was 433 at the 2010 census. The Fort Garland Post Office has the ZIP Code 81133.-General Information:...
with their heads in a sack.
Biography
Thomas Tate Tobin was born in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, on May 1, 1823 to Bartholomew Tobin, an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
immigrant, and Sarah Autobees. Sarah, believed to have been a Delaware Indian
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
, had been widowed before marrying Tobin. She brought her son Charles Autobees (later Autobee) into the marriage. A year later, the couple had a daughter Catherine together.
Early life
In 1828, Charles Autobees, then 16 years old, went west to work as a beaverBeaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
trapper
Trapping (Animal)
Animal trapping, or simply trapping, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, wildlife management, hunting, and pest control...
. He returned to St. Louis in 1837. That year, his half-brother Tom Tobin, then 14 years old, left with Charles and his colleague Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain , also known as Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, was a major fur trader near Taos, New Mexico, where he and his partner William Bent established the trading post of Bent's Fort. St...
to return to Taos. Tom worked as a trapper and scout at Bent's Fort and in Taos. Along with his brother, Tobin worked at Simeon Turley's store, mill, and distillery at Arroyo Hondo
Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico
Arroyo Hondo is a small unincorporated town in Taos County near Taos, New Mexico, United States. It is historically notable as the site of the killing of six to eight employees by a force of allied Native Americans at Simon Turley's mill on January 20, 1847...
. He accompanied his brother Charles on trips to deliver supplies and whiskey to trappers in trade for furs. The men took the pelts to St. Louis to trade for more supplies for Turley's store. Autobees and Tobin made regular stops in places such as Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson can refer to several places or things:*Fort Jackson , also called Fort Toulouse, a War of 1812 fort*Fort Jackson , a frontier trading post located near present-day Ione, Colorado...
, Fort Lupton, Bent's Fort, and El Pueblo
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
.
Marriage and family
By 1846, Tom had married Pascuala Bernal. They lived in Arroyo HondoArroyo Hondo, New Mexico
Arroyo Hondo is a small unincorporated town in Taos County near Taos, New Mexico, United States. It is historically notable as the site of the killing of six to eight employees by a force of allied Native Americans at Simon Turley's mill on January 20, 1847...
, near Taos. He continued working for Turley, and delivered dispatches to Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
for Gen. Stephen Kearny.
The Taos Revolt
On the morning of January 19, 1847, insurrectionists opposed to American rule began a revolt in Don Fernando de Taos (present-day Taos, New MexicoTaos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
). They were led by Pablo Montoya
Pablo Montoya
Pablo Montoya was a New Mexican politician who was active both in the 1837 revolt against the Mexican government, and in the Taos Revolt of 1847 against the United States, during the Mexican-American War.-Early life and education:Jose Pablo Montoya was born January 7, 1816, the son of Andres...
, a Mexican, and Tomás Romero, a Taos Pueblo Indian also known as Tomasito.
The Pueblo, led by Romero, went to the home of Governor Charles Bent
Charles Bent
Charles Bent was appointed as the first Governor of the newly acquired New Mexico Territory by Governor Stephen Watts Kearny in September 1846....
, broke down the door, shot Bent several times with arrows, and scalped him in front of his wife and children. They murdered and scalped several other government officials. Among them were Stephen Lee, acting county sheriff; Cornelio Vigil, prefect and probate judge; and J.W. Leal, circuit attorney.
The next day a large force of approximately 500 Mexicans and Pueblo attacked and laid siege to Simeon Turley's Mill, where Autobee and Tobin were working. Seeing the crowd approach, Autobee rode to Santa Fe to inform the occupying American forces about the revolt and to try to get help, leaving eight to ten mountain men, including his brother Tom, to defend the mill. After a day-long battle, only two of the men, Johnny Albert
John David Albert
John David Albert was a mountain man born in Hagerstown, Maryland. He was orphaned in 1812 around the age of seven. His father died in the War of 1812 and his mother soon after, leaving Albert to live with a sister in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.After working on a Mississippi keelboat in 1833,...
and Tobin, survived; they escaped the burning mill separately on foot during the confusion of night fighting.
After his escape, Tobin and Autobee served as scouts for a company led by Capt. Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain
Ceran St. Vrain , also known as Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, was a major fur trader near Taos, New Mexico, where he and his partner William Bent established the trading post of Bent's Fort. St...
, to find and capture the insurrectionists. Those perpetrators who were not killed in battle were tried and put to death.
Scout, guide, Indian fighter
In 1847, Tobin farmed on land bordering the San Carlos River southeast of El Pueblo, selling his crops to Lt. Col. William GilpinWilliam Gilpin (governor)
William Gilpin was a 19th century U.S. explorer, politician, land speculator, and futurist writer about the American West. He served as military officer in the United States Army during several wars, accompanied John C. Frémont on his second expedition through the West, and was instrumental in the...
, who was camped with his troops near Bent's Fort. The next year, Gilpin asked Tobin to scout for him during a planned spring campaign against the Indians. Gilpin asked Tobin to serve as a courier, carrying dispatches from the Canadian River
Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....
valley of Oklahoma to Bent's Fort.
Just before the Civil War, Maj. B.L. Beall hired Tobin as a scout to guide an expedition to find a railroad route to California. Beall described Tobin as "having a reputation almost equal to Kit Carson's for bravery, dexterity with his rifle, and skill in mountain life."
In November 1868, Gen. Penrose appointed Tobin as chief scout on an Indian-hunting campaign. Other scouts hired were Tobin's half-brother Charles Autobee, and "Wild Bill" Hickok.
Felipe Espinosa
In the early 1860s, the Mexican national Felipe EspinosaFilipe Espinosa
Felipe Nerio Espinosa was a notorious murderer who during the summer of 1863 killed two dozen people in Colorado Territory.Espinosa was born in Veracruz, Mexico. As a child during the Mexican-American War , Espinosa lost six family members when his native city was shelled by the U.S. Navy...
(along with two cousins) moved to the San Luis Valley
San Luis Valley
The San Luis Valley is an extensive alpine valley in the U.S. states of Colorado and New Mexico covering approximately and sitting at an average elevation of above sea level. The valley sits atop the Rio Grande Rift and is drained to the south by the Rio Grande River, which rises in the San Juan...
from New Mexico. The Espinosas went on a killing spree beginning in 1863, murdering more than 30 Anglos in the area in retaliation for relatives killed in the Mexican-American War. A detachment of soldiers from Ft. Garland
Fort Garland, Colorado
Fort Garland is a census-designated place in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The population was 433 at the 2010 census. The Fort Garland Post Office has the ZIP Code 81133.-General Information:...
, as well as several posses, attempted to capture the brothers, but succeeded only in killing one brother, who was quickly replaced by a cousin. Eventually, Colonel Sam Tappan
Samuel F. Tappan
Samuel Forster Tappan was an American journalist, military officer, abolitionist and a Native American rights activist...
, the commanding officer of Ft. Garland, requested Tobin's help in bringing Espinosas' reign of terror to an end. He provided Tobin with a detachment of fifteen soldiers, but Tobin left them at camp, as they made too much noise on the trail. Tobin tracked the Espinosas to a camp and shot them. He cut off their heads and carried them in a sack back to Ft. Garland as proof of his success. When asked by Tappan how his trip had gone, Tobin reportedly replied, "So-so", then rolled the heads out of the sack and across the floor. The government had posted a reward for several thousand dollars (Dead or Alive) for the Espinosas, but Tobin never collected the full amount. The governor of Colorado gave him a coat like Kit Carson's and the Army gave him a Henry rifle
Henry rifle
The Henry repeating rifle was a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine rifle.-History:The original Henry rifle was a .44 caliber rimfire, lever-action, breech-loading rifle designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in the late 1850s. The Henry rifle was an improved version of the earlier Volcanic...
.
Billy Carson
In 1878, Tobin's daughter Pascualita married William (Billy) Carson, a son of Kit CarsonKit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
. Some years later, Tobin tried to stab Carson for abusing Pascualita; the younger man hit Tobin in the head with a sledge hammer and shot him in the side. Tobin and his son-in-law apparently reconciled a few days later, but Tobin never fully recovered from the shooting. He did outlive Billy Carson.
See also
- John David AlbertJohn David AlbertJohn David Albert was a mountain man born in Hagerstown, Maryland. He was orphaned in 1812 around the age of seven. His father died in the War of 1812 and his mother soon after, leaving Albert to live with a sister in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.After working on a Mississippi keelboat in 1833,...
- Kit CarsonKit CarsonChristopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
- Taos RevoltTaos RevoltThe Taos Revolt was a popular insurrection in January 1847 by Mexicans and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. In two short campaigns, United States troops and militia crushed the rebellion of the Mexicans and...
- Samuel F. TappanSamuel F. TappanSamuel Forster Tappan was an American journalist, military officer, abolitionist and a Native American rights activist...