Benjamin Maney Gault (1886 - 1947)

Born 21 Jun 1886 in Austin, Travis, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Johnson) Gault — married about 15 Dec 1907 in Travis, Texas, United States

Died 14 Dec 1947 at age 61 in Austin, Travis, Texas, United States

Biography

Benjamin Gault is Notable.

While most noted for his part in stopping the crime spree of Bonnie Elizabeth (Parker) Thornton (1910-1934) and Clyde Chestnut Barrow (1909-1934) near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934, Benjamin Maney Gault had a long and storied career as a Texas Ranger. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1919 and served until his death in 1947. Gault was a decorated Ranger, receiving the Ranger Cross, the Medal of Valor, and the Purple Heart. He also played a key role in the investigation of the Katy Freeway murders.

Benjamin Maney Gault was born on 21 Jun 1886 in Austin, Texas. He was the son of John McCain Gault and Minnie Rose (Linden) Gault. In 1900^[1] Benjamin was living in Travis County, Texas where his father was farming.

Maney married^[2] Rebecca Johnson on 15 Dec 1907 in Travis County, Texas. Rebecca gave birth to their daughter Leona in 1908 and their son Johnson in 1911.

In 1910 they were was living in Travis County. In 1917-1918, Benjamin registered for the military draft in Travis County. The 1920 census^[3] shows Benjamin raising his family in Travis County where he is farming.

The 1930 census^[4] lists Ben as a Texas Ranger and raising his family in Austin. In 1932 the Rangers were disbanded but in 1934 Maney partnered with former Ranger Captain Frank Hamer to find Bonnie and Clyde. On 23 May 1934 Maney was involved^[5] in the posse that killed Bonnie and Clyde in Louisiana.

In 1935, Benjamin was living in Same House. And in 1940, still living in Austin. In 1942, Benjamin registered for the military draft in Austin. His son Johnson was married and had a son John Allen Gault in 1943.

Benjamin died on 14 December 1947 in Austin, Texas. He is buried^[6] at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Austin, Travis County, Texas next to Rebecca. He is included in^[7] the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.

Research Notes

From FS LifeSketch: The infamy of outlawed duo Bonnie and Clyde has endured, but history has largely forgotten the men who ended their crime and murder spree. So who were Frank Hamer and Maney Gault? Hamer was a quick-thinking marksman

Frank Hamer was born on March 17, 1884, in Fairview, Texas, the second son of a blacksmith. He became adept at ranching and farming at an early age, and after finishing his schooling in the sixth grade, he began spending more time on his own in the wilderness.

The immersion in the natural world left a permanent imprint on the future lawman, who took to comparing people to animals: A criminal was a coyote, always looking over its shoulder; a murderer was "a cold-blooded rattlesnake with a chill." Hamer personally likened himself to an antelope, "the most curious of all animals."

Strong, quick-thinking and an expert marksman, Hamer was a natural fit for the Texas Rangers. He joined the state agency in 1906 and served on and off for the next quarter-century, with side ventures taking him to other law-enforcement posts in Texas. One gig, as marshal of Navasota, led to his first marriage and the acquisition of his famous Colt .45, nicknamed "Old Lucky."

During another job, as a range detective for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Hamer inserted himself into a blood feud between two prominent families. This resulted in his second marriage and a very close brush with death when he was shot at point-blank range by his bride's ex-brother-in-law. By 1921, he was back with the Rangers for good as a senior captain and operating out of Austin.

Hamer's reputation as a man of strong morals became widely known in the late 1920s when he challenged the Texas Bankers Association for a bounty system that encouraged the killing of bank robbers. He also earned renown for defending African-American suspects from lynch mobs, though his efforts weren't enough to ward off catastrophe in May 1930, when an angry crowd in Sherman burned a courthouse to the ground to get a rape suspect. By early 1933, with newly reelected Governor Ma Ferguson overhauling the organization, Hamer was no longer an active Ranger. Maney Gault & Frank Hamer

Like Hamer, Gault was reliable and tough

Ben Maney Gault was born on June 21, 1886, in Travis County, Texas. He began his career at a furniture manufacturing plant in Austin, where, as a neighbor of Hamer's, he became involved in undercover moonshine investigations, until officially joining the Rangers in 1929.

Gault was similar in many ways to Hamer; he was quiet, honest, reliable and, while not an imposing presence, was capable of handling himself in tough situations. As such, the two took an immense liking to one another, bonding over hunting and poker games. Bonnie and Clyde had been on the run for two years before Hamer and Gault began their hunt for the duo

In early 1934, Hamer was paid a visit by Texas prison superintendent Lee Simmons. Bonnie, Clyde and their associates had already been at large for two years, evading capture through the South and Midwest with their powerful stolen cars and firearms. A recent break-in at the Eastham Prison, which freed five convicts and left a guard dead, was the final straw, and Hamer was promised full authority to rein in the criminals.

Hamer sought to learn everything he could about his targets, his research giving him an idea of Clyde's general path through Texas, Louisiana and Missouri. He established contacts with the FBI and law enforcement through the region, with one sheriff, Henderson Jordan of Bienville Parrish, Louisiana, proving crucial to the mission's success.

With Gault on board for the hunt, Hamer focused on one identified associate, Henry Methvin, who was known to visit his family in Jordan's neck of the woods. The lawmen got a break when Methvin's father, Ivy, fearful for his family's safety, agreed to help steer the criminals into their grasp.

On the morning of May 23, 1934, with Bonnie and Clyde expected to return to the Methvin home, Ivy was instructed to park his truck on the main road into town and pretend like he was changing a tire. At around 9:15 am, Bonnie and Clyde thundered down the road in their Ford V-8 and slowed to help. Hamer had hoped to take them alive, but the plan evaporated when a logging truck also appeared, the confusion causing one deputy to open fire. With Bonnie and Clyde reaching for their weapons, the floodgates opened, and the lawmen decisively ended the battle by pumping 167 bullets and buckshot at the car's passengers. Hamer and Gault did not like the attention they received after killing Bonnie and Clyde

The highly publicized shootout brought Hamer the sort of widespread attention he despised. He said he would not attend the proposed Hamer-Gault Hero Day in Austin, and turned down all media offers to share his story of the Bonnie and Clyde investigation with the public.

Gault proved equally tight-lipped on the subject. He quietly served out the remainder of his years as captain of the Rangers' Company C division, with one profile in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal describing him as "taciturn as a turtle in a drought." He died in relative anonymity in December 1947.

Hamer, meanwhile, enjoyed a lucrative post-Ranger career as head of a private security company. He emerged for one final legendary lawman moment in 1948, when he accompanied Texas Senate hopeful Coke Stevenson into the town of Alice to investigate suspicions of voter fraud by Lyndon B. Johnson's operatives, though LBJ would eventually win the seat. Hamer died in his sleep after suffering a heart attack on the night of July 10, 1955.

By Tim Ott

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M35G-5FR : Sun Sep 17 08:31:46 UTC 2023), Entry for John M Gault and Minnie Gault, 1900.
2. ↑ "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F61F-58X : 10 March 2021), B. M. Gault and Rebecca Johnson, 15 Dec 1907; citing Travis, Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 978,170.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH1R-C2T : Tue Jul 25 23:05:41 UTC 2023), Entry for Benjamin M Gault and Rebecca T Gault, 1920.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H2Q7-B6Z : Fri Aug 04 19:58:12 UTC 2023), Entry for Ben M Gault and Rebecca T Gault, 1930.
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Ranger_Division
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7874454/benjamin-maney-gault: accessed 21 September 2023), memorial page for Capt Benjamin Maney Gault (21 Jun 1886–4 Dec 1947), Find a Grave Memorial ID 7874454, citing Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
7. ↑ https://www.texasranger.org/texas-ranger-museum/history/biographies-20th-century-texas-rangers/

• 1910 Census: "United States Census, 1910"
  citing enumeration district (ED) ED 84, sheet 3A, family 43, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1594; FHL microfilm 1,375,607.
  FamilySearch Record: M2QM-BNQ (accessed 1 April 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYBH-HMJ Image number 00898
  Maney B Gault (23), married head of household in Justice Precinct 4, Travis, Texas, United States. Born in Texas.
• Military: "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918"
  citing Affiliate Publication Title: World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards; Affiliate Publication Number: M1509; FHL microfilm: 1983675;
  FamilySearch Record: KZX1-5N2 (accessed 1 April 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYYN-4TN Image number 02020
  Name: Benjamin M Gault; Military Draft Registration Date: from 1917 to 1918; Military Draft Registration Place: Travis, Texas, United States; Birth Date: 21 Jun 1886; Birth Place: Travis, Texas, United States; Citizenship Place: United States; Race: White.
• Military: "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918"
  citing Affiliate Publication Title: World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards; Affiliate Publication Number: M1509; Record number: 0;
  FamilySearch Record: 7DM5-4Y6Z (accessed 1 April 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYYN-4TN Image number 02020
  Name: Benjamin M Gault; Military Draft Registration Date: from 1917 to 1918; Military Draft Registration Place: Travis, Texas, United States; Birth Date: 21 Jun 1886; Birth Place: Travis, Texas, United States; Citizenship Place: United States; Race: White.
• 1940 Census: "United States Census, 1940"
  citing enumeration district (ED) 227-67, sheet 12B, line 77, family 320, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4150.
  FamilySearch Record: K431-KQY (accessed 1 April 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-89MY-DCLQ
  Benjamin M Gault (54), married head of household in Tract 14, Austin, Justice Precinct 3, Travis, Texas, United States. Born in Texas.
• Military: "United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942"
  citing NARA microfilm publication M1936, M1937, M1939, M1951, M1962, M1964, M1986, M2090, and M2097 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  FamilySearch Record: XPLR-8YZ (accessed 1 April 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6XMQ-JS2 Image number 03145
  Name: Benjiman Maney Gault; Military Draft Registration Date: 1942; Military Draft Registration Place: Austin, Travis, Texas, United States; Birth Date: 21 Jun 1886; Residence Place: Austin, Travis, Texas; Occupation Employer: Benjiman Maney/Gault.
• Death: "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976"
  citing FHL microfilm: 2218734;
  FamilySearch Record: K39K-T43 (accessed 1 April 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYBB-7H7 Image number 00823
  Benjamin Maney Gault death 4 Dec 1947 (born 21 Jun), son of John M Gault & Minnie Linden, in Austin, Travis, Texas, United States.
• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #7874454 (accessed 1 April 2023)
  Memorial page for Capt Benjamin Maney Gault Famous memorial (21 Jun 1886-4 Dec 1947), citing Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
  "CAPTAIN — TEXAS RANGERS".
• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 20 May 2022, 22:19), entry for Benjamin Maney Gault (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:M4PK-L8S ); contributed by various users.

See Also

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/M4PK-L8S
• https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-legendary-maney-gault/
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7874454/benjamin-maney-gault