Other than the fact that William Graham (aka Curly Bill Brocius)
came from Texas, their is little known facts 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. I hope you have enjoyed this brief history of Curly Bill. I hope
to add more information as it becomes available.Back
