The life and times of
Curly Bill Brocius

Birth date? - Killed or Disappeared in 1882?

Curly Bill reenactor visits the HAUNTED SALOON during a "Live" old west video
webcast

Other than the fact that William Graham (aka Curly Bill Brocius) came from Texas, there are few other facts known and no pictures of the notorious Curly Bill.

1878
Using the alias (William Bresnaham) Curly Bill Brocius was convicted of larceny in Texas along with Bob Martin. They attempted to rob a government ambulance, which they probably thought was holding money. Two men were shot in the attempt, a newspaper article said one of the men died. (Bob Martin was an associate of John Kinney and Jessie Evans)

1879
Curly Bill and his friends walked into a church in Charleston (nine miles south of Tombstone) and demanded a sermon. Then he caused a distrubance by shooting holes in the walls etc.

1880
On Oct. 27, Curly Bill accidentally killed Tombstone marshall Fred White. Although Ike and Billy Clanton were not present when this shooting took place, this event is still said to have started the bitter feud between the Earps and the cowboys. Before Marshal White died a few days later, he admitted that it was in fact an accident.

1882
Curly Bill was allegedly killed by a revengeful filled Wyatt Earp in Iron Springs, Arizona in 1882. (Iron Springs is now Mescal Springs on modern day maps)

Was Curly Bill really killed by Wyatt Earp? This was a big question in and around Tombstone just after his reported death, and continues to be debated today!

The majority of the public seems to believe that Wyatt Earp killed Curly Bill, but others disagree. Below are some other reports.

It's been reported that Curly Bill was seen in Mexico in 1883.

A gentlemen also said that he sold cattle to Curly Bill in 1917.

This author even spotted him at an "Elvis" concert in 1971 (Sorry, but I couldn't resist) <grin>

I hope you have enjoyed this brief history of Curly Bill. We hope to add more information as it becomes available.