Background
Joseph Graves Olney was born in Burleson County, to Joseph and Mary K. (Tanner) Olney on October 9, 1849.
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Joseph Olney
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He arrived there around 1877 and set up a ranch in the San Simon Valley. Olney moved from under circumstances which were notorious. The family remained in Burleson until 1860, then they moved their ranch to Burnet County, In 1870, Olney married Agnes Jane Arnold and set up his own ranch in neighboring Llano County,
In 1872, Olney served in John Alexander"s Company O of the Minutemen and participated in action against Indian raiders.
His name appears on the court dockets for minor indictments such as exhibiting a Monte Bank and gaming.
Over the next few years, Olney, along with John Ringo and the Baird brothers, became involved in the Mason County Hoo Doo War. As the situation escalated, Scott Cooley and John Ringo were arrested and incarcerated in the Lampasas County jail.
lieutenant is believed that Olney and John Baird were the leaders of the group that sprung the two out. lieutenant is also believed that Olney hid Ringo in Llano.
The morning of September 7, 1876 brought two riders, Deputy Sheriff South.B. Martin and Wilson Rowntree, to the Olney ranch.
Not recognizing Olney, they asked where to ford the river. Olney directed them, and feeling suspicious, he followed the mentor Martin and Rowntree then recognized Olney.
A gun battle ensued in which Rowntree was wounded in the arm and Martin was killed.
Olney attempted to exonerate himself by submitting his explanation to the local paper. He fled to New Mexico where he began using the alias Joe Hill.
His name appeared on Governor Lew Wallace"s list of outlaws. He was a wanted man listed as "Joseph Hill (alias Olney) killing a Deputy Shff.
In Burnettown,, sandy complected."
By the late 1870s, Olney had purchased a ranch in Old Mexico at Nuevo Casas Grandes near Corralitos and established another ranch in the San Simon Valley of He drove cattle between the two ranches and up to San Carlos Reservation for sale to Indian agents.
On one such drive, Olney, John Ringo, Ike Clanton, and First Rate (at Lloyd's) Turner hurrahed the town of Safford,, a typical cowboy behavior. Olney and Ringo were present at the 1881 killing of Dick Lloyd. The two men and others were playing cards in the saloon when the drunk Dick Lloyd shot Editor Mann, mounted Olney"s horse, and rode into the saloon.
Lloyd was shot by Jack O"Neal.
Olney and Ringo also rode together as part of the 1882 posse that pursued the Earps after the vendetta killings of Frank Stilwell and a Mexican, Florentino Cruz. After John Ringo"s death in 1882, Joseph Olney"s life finally began to settle down.
On December 13, 1884, The Silver Belt reported,
"From The Willcox Stockman we learn that Joe Hill, a well-known cattle man, met with a fatal accident at Bowie, on Wednesday of last week. While driving cattle into a corral, riding at a full gallop, his horse stumbled and fell.
Mr. Hill was thrown violently to the ground and received internal injuries from which he died within an hour.
