According to Sandy Stone, a "distant cousin" of Bill, " . . . he was born in Middletown, Frederick Co., MD, on Oct. 9, 1849. I obtained this information from his baptism record at Zion Lutheran Church in Middletown. The pastor neglected to record his date of baptism but did give Oct. 9th as his date of birth."
** Bill Koogle: Mysterious Man of the West, by Robert W. Brown**
Little is known about the early life of Charles Goodnight's friend and associate Bill Koogle before he came West. He was born William C. Koogle in Maryland in 1849. His family may have lived in the Frederick County area of Maryland at this time. He was stated to have come from a family of four sisters, each of which married well. He was enrolled at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania shortly before running away from home at age 17 and going West.
If this age is correct Bill Koogle may have arrived in Kansas as early as 1866 or perhaps it was a few years later. Anyway, he appears to have entered the buffalo hunting business in Kansas, probably as a lowly skinner before working his way up to shooting the bison. He seems to have eventually gained a reputation as a fine marksman and hunter during this time. Buffalo hunting along the Arkansas river in Kansas & Colorado was becoming big business around this time. He may have traded hides at Kansas outposts or even spent some time at Bent's Fort in Colorado. Bent's Fort was a rendezvous place for hunters to sell their robes, restock their wagons and spin their yarns. Koogle is said to have spent some time in Colorado during this time. Nevertheless, his main exploits as a buffalo hunter and adventurer would come later, down in the Texas Panhandle.
Like many self-made men Koogle tried his hand at many occupations during his early years out west. Some of his multiple trades (or skills) included Bullwhacking, Fencing, Cowboying, Freighting, Buffalo Hunting, Mining and even Gambling, a hobby he wasn't very good at. Although he never became famous for his own escapades & adventures Koogle did associate with some men that today are famous in the western field. During his lifetime he had such men as Charles Goodnight, Fred Patching and Will Lewis within his circle, just to mention a few.
Nevertheless, Bill was in Kansas in c.1877 when he came into contact with one important man of the West. This initial encounter was in the form of a message. Charles Goodnight had sent word to Dodge City for Koogle to come to the JA ranch in the Texas panhandle. It seems that the bison were no friend of Goodnight's at this time and he hired Koogle to come to the Texas ranch and solve this problem. The JA, although in its infancy, would have a million acres under its control in the future and Adair and Goodnight needed to preserve as much of the grass and water as possible for their enormous cattle herds. The young Koogle who had obviously already earned something of a reputation as a Marksman & Buffalo hunter was soon on the trail with his crew, headed for Texas. Laura V. Hamner once wrote in her Texas school book:
"Charles Goodnight had sent for Bill Koogle to come down from Dodge City to rid the ranch from the encroachment of the buffalo. With eighteen men, cooks and skinners and teamsters, Koogle killed out the herd that had cleaned the grass from off Lone Creek. Fifteen thousand was what he estimated to be his winter's kill."
Taken from this website and used with the kind permission of its author Mr. Brown.
____________________________________________________________
Mr. Brown also wrote and contributed the following, which can be considered a postscript to the essay above:
"Buffalo hunters had already been in the Texas panhandle hunting before Koogle arrived in 1876. A famous battle between panhandle Indians and buffalo hunters had occurred at the Adobe Walls trading post in 1874. Today some of the early hunters are famous. They include the Indian fighter Billy Dixon, hero of Adobe Walls, the Cator brothers [James and Arthur] of Zulu Stockade, Frank Collinson the writer and John Wright Mooar. Mooar had hunted along the southern part of the Caprock and and was in the Texas panhandle just after an Adobe Walls battle. Most of these Texas buffalo hunters are surely more famous today than Bill Koogle has ever been. It is probably due to the fact that biographies and articles have been written about these brave men and sometimes by them. If it were not for the fact that Will Lewis, the famous panhandle rancher, had been Koogle's nephew, perhaps after Laura V. Hamner's lone paragraph above it should have been stated: This will be Bill Koogle's only mention in West Texas history except for a footnote or two.
It is a fact, however, that Koogle's death in Clarendon was reported in the [June 18, 1915 edition of the] Grand Valley Times newspaper, out in Grand County, Utah where he had lived a number of years, later in life:
"William C. Koogle died in Clarendon, TX on June 1, 1915. He was well-known throughout this section of Utah, having been engaged in prospecting in the La Sal mountains for the past fifteen years. He died at his sister's home in Clarendon." [Click here to see the actual announcement.]
Irregardless of how unknown Bill Koogle is in western history, he is still remembered around Clarendon and Claude as the buffalo hunter that killed off the big herds in Palo Duro Canyon. But he has long been forgotten as the founder and owner of the now defunct Half Circle K Ranch that Col. Charles Goodnight just thought he had to have!"
____________________________________________________________
1850 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age: 0
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1850: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Gender: Male
Family Number: 612
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 44 [wheelwright]
Catharine Koogle 61 [sic; 41]
Mary E Koogle 15
Thomas W Koogle 12
Harriet A Koogle 10
Adam C Koogle 9
Virginie C Koogle 5
Janette F Koogle 3
William C Koogle 0 [sic; actually, it shows "9/12"]
Daniel Gettz 21 [wheelwright]
George Syler 30 [laborer]
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: William Carlton Koogle
Age: 10
Birth Year: abt 1850
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Maryland
Home in 1860: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Post Office: Middletown
Family Number: 538
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 54
Catherine Koogle 51
Thomas Koogle 22
Hariett Koogle 17
Christian Koogle 18
Jeneth Koogle 14
Jenney Koogle 13
William Carlton Koogle 10
Zacheriah Koogle 21
Robert Thompson 35
1870 United States Federal Census
Name: Willie Koogle
Age in 1870: 20
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1870: District 3, Frederick, Maryland
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Middletown
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 63
Catharine Koogle 59
Thomas W Koogle 33
Adam C Koogle 26
Jennie C Koogle 24
Willie Koogle 20
Geo Delaughter 20
Ada Smith 7
James Mathews 23
Luther Brunner 11
Anna Butler 26
Schuyler Butler 1
1880 United States Federal Census
Name: Wm. C. Koogle
Age: 30
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1880: Donley, Texas
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Occupation: Ranche Builder
Household Members: Name Age
Wm. C. Koogle 30
Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985
Name: William Koogle
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 27 Dec 1883
Marriage Place: Missouri
Record Place: Jackson, Missouri, USA
Certificate Number: 1883K0040092
Household Members: Name
William Koogle
Carrie Shannon
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: W C Koogle
Age: 50
Birth Date: Oct 1849
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1900: Basin, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Marriage Year: 1884
Years Married: 16
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Household Members: Name Age
Robt W King 34
Wm Peterson 39
W C Koogle 50
1910 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age in 1910: 60
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1910: Castleton, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Miner
Employer, Employee or Other: Own Account
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Farm or House: House
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Years Married: 33
Survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy: CA [sic; the code in column 30 is actually "OA" and has nothing to do with any Civil War service. T.N.]
Household Members: Name Age
William C Koogle 60
** Bill Koogle: Mysterious Man of the West, by Robert W. Brown**
Little is known about the early life of Charles Goodnight's friend and associate Bill Koogle before he came West. He was born William C. Koogle in Maryland in 1849. His family may have lived in the Frederick County area of Maryland at this time. He was stated to have come from a family of four sisters, each of which married well. He was enrolled at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania shortly before running away from home at age 17 and going West.
If this age is correct Bill Koogle may have arrived in Kansas as early as 1866 or perhaps it was a few years later. Anyway, he appears to have entered the buffalo hunting business in Kansas, probably as a lowly skinner before working his way up to shooting the bison. He seems to have eventually gained a reputation as a fine marksman and hunter during this time. Buffalo hunting along the Arkansas river in Kansas & Colorado was becoming big business around this time. He may have traded hides at Kansas outposts or even spent some time at Bent's Fort in Colorado. Bent's Fort was a rendezvous place for hunters to sell their robes, restock their wagons and spin their yarns. Koogle is said to have spent some time in Colorado during this time. Nevertheless, his main exploits as a buffalo hunter and adventurer would come later, down in the Texas Panhandle.
Like many self-made men Koogle tried his hand at many occupations during his early years out west. Some of his multiple trades (or skills) included Bullwhacking, Fencing, Cowboying, Freighting, Buffalo Hunting, Mining and even Gambling, a hobby he wasn't very good at. Although he never became famous for his own escapades & adventures Koogle did associate with some men that today are famous in the western field. During his lifetime he had such men as Charles Goodnight, Fred Patching and Will Lewis within his circle, just to mention a few.
Nevertheless, Bill was in Kansas in c.1877 when he came into contact with one important man of the West. This initial encounter was in the form of a message. Charles Goodnight had sent word to Dodge City for Koogle to come to the JA ranch in the Texas panhandle. It seems that the bison were no friend of Goodnight's at this time and he hired Koogle to come to the Texas ranch and solve this problem. The JA, although in its infancy, would have a million acres under its control in the future and Adair and Goodnight needed to preserve as much of the grass and water as possible for their enormous cattle herds. The young Koogle who had obviously already earned something of a reputation as a Marksman & Buffalo hunter was soon on the trail with his crew, headed for Texas. Laura V. Hamner once wrote in her Texas school book:
"Charles Goodnight had sent for Bill Koogle to come down from Dodge City to rid the ranch from the encroachment of the buffalo. With eighteen men, cooks and skinners and teamsters, Koogle killed out the herd that had cleaned the grass from off Lone Creek. Fifteen thousand was what he estimated to be his winter's kill."
Taken from this website and used with the kind permission of its author Mr. Brown.
____________________________________________________________
Mr. Brown also wrote and contributed the following, which can be considered a postscript to the essay above:
"Buffalo hunters had already been in the Texas panhandle hunting before Koogle arrived in 1876. A famous battle between panhandle Indians and buffalo hunters had occurred at the Adobe Walls trading post in 1874. Today some of the early hunters are famous. They include the Indian fighter Billy Dixon, hero of Adobe Walls, the Cator brothers [James and Arthur] of Zulu Stockade, Frank Collinson the writer and John Wright Mooar. Mooar had hunted along the southern part of the Caprock and and was in the Texas panhandle just after an Adobe Walls battle. Most of these Texas buffalo hunters are surely more famous today than Bill Koogle has ever been. It is probably due to the fact that biographies and articles have been written about these brave men and sometimes by them. If it were not for the fact that Will Lewis, the famous panhandle rancher, had been Koogle's nephew, perhaps after Laura V. Hamner's lone paragraph above it should have been stated: This will be Bill Koogle's only mention in West Texas history except for a footnote or two.
It is a fact, however, that Koogle's death in Clarendon was reported in the [June 18, 1915 edition of the] Grand Valley Times newspaper, out in Grand County, Utah where he had lived a number of years, later in life:
"William C. Koogle died in Clarendon, TX on June 1, 1915. He was well-known throughout this section of Utah, having been engaged in prospecting in the La Sal mountains for the past fifteen years. He died at his sister's home in Clarendon." [Click here to see the actual announcement.]
Irregardless of how unknown Bill Koogle is in western history, he is still remembered around Clarendon and Claude as the buffalo hunter that killed off the big herds in Palo Duro Canyon. But he has long been forgotten as the founder and owner of the now defunct Half Circle K Ranch that Col. Charles Goodnight just thought he had to have!"
____________________________________________________________
1850 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age: 0
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1850: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Gender: Male
Family Number: 612
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 44 [wheelwright]
Catharine Koogle 61 [sic; 41]
Mary E Koogle 15
Thomas W Koogle 12
Harriet A Koogle 10
Adam C Koogle 9
Virginie C Koogle 5
Janette F Koogle 3
William C Koogle 0 [sic; actually, it shows "9/12"]
Daniel Gettz 21 [wheelwright]
George Syler 30 [laborer]
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: William Carlton Koogle
Age: 10
Birth Year: abt 1850
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Maryland
Home in 1860: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Post Office: Middletown
Family Number: 538
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 54
Catherine Koogle 51
Thomas Koogle 22
Hariett Koogle 17
Christian Koogle 18
Jeneth Koogle 14
Jenney Koogle 13
William Carlton Koogle 10
Zacheriah Koogle 21
Robert Thompson 35
1870 United States Federal Census
Name: Willie Koogle
Age in 1870: 20
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1870: District 3, Frederick, Maryland
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Middletown
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 63
Catharine Koogle 59
Thomas W Koogle 33
Adam C Koogle 26
Jennie C Koogle 24
Willie Koogle 20
Geo Delaughter 20
Ada Smith 7
James Mathews 23
Luther Brunner 11
Anna Butler 26
Schuyler Butler 1
1880 United States Federal Census
Name: Wm. C. Koogle
Age: 30
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1880: Donley, Texas
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Occupation: Ranche Builder
Household Members: Name Age
Wm. C. Koogle 30
Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985
Name: William Koogle
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 27 Dec 1883
Marriage Place: Missouri
Record Place: Jackson, Missouri, USA
Certificate Number: 1883K0040092
Household Members: Name
William Koogle
Carrie Shannon
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: W C Koogle
Age: 50
Birth Date: Oct 1849
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1900: Basin, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Marriage Year: 1884
Years Married: 16
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Household Members: Name Age
Robt W King 34
Wm Peterson 39
W C Koogle 50
1910 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age in 1910: 60
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1910: Castleton, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Miner
Employer, Employee or Other: Own Account
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Farm or House: House
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Years Married: 33
Survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy: CA [sic; the code in column 30 is actually "OA" and has nothing to do with any Civil War service. T.N.]
Household Members: Name Age
William C Koogle 60
According to Sandy Stone, a "distant cousin" of Bill, " . . . he was born in Middletown, Frederick Co., MD, on Oct. 9, 1849. I obtained this information from his baptism record at Zion Lutheran Church in Middletown. The pastor neglected to record his date of baptism but did give Oct. 9th as his date of birth."
** Bill Koogle: Mysterious Man of the West, by Robert W. Brown**
Little is known about the early life of Charles Goodnight's friend and associate Bill Koogle before he came West. He was born William C. Koogle in Maryland in 1849. His family may have lived in the Frederick County area of Maryland at this time. He was stated to have come from a family of four sisters, each of which married well. He was enrolled at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania shortly before running away from home at age 17 and going West.
If this age is correct Bill Koogle may have arrived in Kansas as early as 1866 or perhaps it was a few years later. Anyway, he appears to have entered the buffalo hunting business in Kansas, probably as a lowly skinner before working his way up to shooting the bison. He seems to have eventually gained a reputation as a fine marksman and hunter during this time. Buffalo hunting along the Arkansas river in Kansas & Colorado was becoming big business around this time. He may have traded hides at Kansas outposts or even spent some time at Bent's Fort in Colorado. Bent's Fort was a rendezvous place for hunters to sell their robes, restock their wagons and spin their yarns. Koogle is said to have spent some time in Colorado during this time. Nevertheless, his main exploits as a buffalo hunter and adventurer would come later, down in the Texas Panhandle.
Like many self-made men Koogle tried his hand at many occupations during his early years out west. Some of his multiple trades (or skills) included Bullwhacking, Fencing, Cowboying, Freighting, Buffalo Hunting, Mining and even Gambling, a hobby he wasn't very good at. Although he never became famous for his own escapades & adventures Koogle did associate with some men that today are famous in the western field. During his lifetime he had such men as Charles Goodnight, Fred Patching and Will Lewis within his circle, just to mention a few.
Nevertheless, Bill was in Kansas in c.1877 when he came into contact with one important man of the West. This initial encounter was in the form of a message. Charles Goodnight had sent word to Dodge City for Koogle to come to the JA ranch in the Texas panhandle. It seems that the bison were no friend of Goodnight's at this time and he hired Koogle to come to the Texas ranch and solve this problem. The JA, although in its infancy, would have a million acres under its control in the future and Adair and Goodnight needed to preserve as much of the grass and water as possible for their enormous cattle herds. The young Koogle who had obviously already earned something of a reputation as a Marksman & Buffalo hunter was soon on the trail with his crew, headed for Texas. Laura V. Hamner once wrote in her Texas school book:
"Charles Goodnight had sent for Bill Koogle to come down from Dodge City to rid the ranch from the encroachment of the buffalo. With eighteen men, cooks and skinners and teamsters, Koogle killed out the herd that had cleaned the grass from off Lone Creek. Fifteen thousand was what he estimated to be his winter's kill."
Taken from this website and used with the kind permission of its author Mr. Brown.
____________________________________________________________
Mr. Brown also wrote and contributed the following, which can be considered a postscript to the essay above:
"Buffalo hunters had already been in the Texas panhandle hunting before Koogle arrived in 1876. A famous battle between panhandle Indians and buffalo hunters had occurred at the Adobe Walls trading post in 1874. Today some of the early hunters are famous. They include the Indian fighter Billy Dixon, hero of Adobe Walls, the Cator brothers [James and Arthur] of Zulu Stockade, Frank Collinson the writer and John Wright Mooar. Mooar had hunted along the southern part of the Caprock and and was in the Texas panhandle just after an Adobe Walls battle. Most of these Texas buffalo hunters are surely more famous today than Bill Koogle has ever been. It is probably due to the fact that biographies and articles have been written about these brave men and sometimes by them. If it were not for the fact that Will Lewis, the famous panhandle rancher, had been Koogle's nephew, perhaps after Laura V. Hamner's lone paragraph above it should have been stated: This will be Bill Koogle's only mention in West Texas history except for a footnote or two.
It is a fact, however, that Koogle's death in Clarendon was reported in the [June 18, 1915 edition of the] Grand Valley Times newspaper, out in Grand County, Utah where he had lived a number of years, later in life:
"William C. Koogle died in Clarendon, TX on June 1, 1915. He was well-known throughout this section of Utah, having been engaged in prospecting in the La Sal mountains for the past fifteen years. He died at his sister's home in Clarendon." [Click here to see the actual announcement.]
Irregardless of how unknown Bill Koogle is in western history, he is still remembered around Clarendon and Claude as the buffalo hunter that killed off the big herds in Palo Duro Canyon. But he has long been forgotten as the founder and owner of the now defunct Half Circle K Ranch that Col. Charles Goodnight just thought he had to have!"
____________________________________________________________
1850 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age: 0
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1850: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Gender: Male
Family Number: 612
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 44 [wheelwright]
Catharine Koogle 61 [sic; 41]
Mary E Koogle 15
Thomas W Koogle 12
Harriet A Koogle 10
Adam C Koogle 9
Virginie C Koogle 5
Janette F Koogle 3
William C Koogle 0 [sic; actually, it shows "9/12"]
Daniel Gettz 21 [wheelwright]
George Syler 30 [laborer]
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: William Carlton Koogle
Age: 10
Birth Year: abt 1850
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Maryland
Home in 1860: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Post Office: Middletown
Family Number: 538
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 54
Catherine Koogle 51
Thomas Koogle 22
Hariett Koogle 17
Christian Koogle 18
Jeneth Koogle 14
Jenney Koogle 13
William Carlton Koogle 10
Zacheriah Koogle 21
Robert Thompson 35
1870 United States Federal Census
Name: Willie Koogle
Age in 1870: 20
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1870: District 3, Frederick, Maryland
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Middletown
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 63
Catharine Koogle 59
Thomas W Koogle 33
Adam C Koogle 26
Jennie C Koogle 24
Willie Koogle 20
Geo Delaughter 20
Ada Smith 7
James Mathews 23
Luther Brunner 11
Anna Butler 26
Schuyler Butler 1
1880 United States Federal Census
Name: Wm. C. Koogle
Age: 30
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1880: Donley, Texas
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Occupation: Ranche Builder
Household Members: Name Age
Wm. C. Koogle 30
Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985
Name: William Koogle
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 27 Dec 1883
Marriage Place: Missouri
Record Place: Jackson, Missouri, USA
Certificate Number: 1883K0040092
Household Members: Name
William Koogle
Carrie Shannon
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: W C Koogle
Age: 50
Birth Date: Oct 1849
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1900: Basin, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Marriage Year: 1884
Years Married: 16
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Household Members: Name Age
Robt W King 34
Wm Peterson 39
W C Koogle 50
1910 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age in 1910: 60
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1910: Castleton, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Miner
Employer, Employee or Other: Own Account
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Farm or House: House
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Years Married: 33
Survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy: CA [sic; the code in column 30 is actually "OA" and has nothing to do with any Civil War service. T.N.]
Household Members: Name Age
William C Koogle 60
** Bill Koogle: Mysterious Man of the West, by Robert W. Brown**
Little is known about the early life of Charles Goodnight's friend and associate Bill Koogle before he came West. He was born William C. Koogle in Maryland in 1849. His family may have lived in the Frederick County area of Maryland at this time. He was stated to have come from a family of four sisters, each of which married well. He was enrolled at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania shortly before running away from home at age 17 and going West.
If this age is correct Bill Koogle may have arrived in Kansas as early as 1866 or perhaps it was a few years later. Anyway, he appears to have entered the buffalo hunting business in Kansas, probably as a lowly skinner before working his way up to shooting the bison. He seems to have eventually gained a reputation as a fine marksman and hunter during this time. Buffalo hunting along the Arkansas river in Kansas & Colorado was becoming big business around this time. He may have traded hides at Kansas outposts or even spent some time at Bent's Fort in Colorado. Bent's Fort was a rendezvous place for hunters to sell their robes, restock their wagons and spin their yarns. Koogle is said to have spent some time in Colorado during this time. Nevertheless, his main exploits as a buffalo hunter and adventurer would come later, down in the Texas Panhandle.
Like many self-made men Koogle tried his hand at many occupations during his early years out west. Some of his multiple trades (or skills) included Bullwhacking, Fencing, Cowboying, Freighting, Buffalo Hunting, Mining and even Gambling, a hobby he wasn't very good at. Although he never became famous for his own escapades & adventures Koogle did associate with some men that today are famous in the western field. During his lifetime he had such men as Charles Goodnight, Fred Patching and Will Lewis within his circle, just to mention a few.
Nevertheless, Bill was in Kansas in c.1877 when he came into contact with one important man of the West. This initial encounter was in the form of a message. Charles Goodnight had sent word to Dodge City for Koogle to come to the JA ranch in the Texas panhandle. It seems that the bison were no friend of Goodnight's at this time and he hired Koogle to come to the Texas ranch and solve this problem. The JA, although in its infancy, would have a million acres under its control in the future and Adair and Goodnight needed to preserve as much of the grass and water as possible for their enormous cattle herds. The young Koogle who had obviously already earned something of a reputation as a Marksman & Buffalo hunter was soon on the trail with his crew, headed for Texas. Laura V. Hamner once wrote in her Texas school book:
"Charles Goodnight had sent for Bill Koogle to come down from Dodge City to rid the ranch from the encroachment of the buffalo. With eighteen men, cooks and skinners and teamsters, Koogle killed out the herd that had cleaned the grass from off Lone Creek. Fifteen thousand was what he estimated to be his winter's kill."
Taken from this website and used with the kind permission of its author Mr. Brown.
____________________________________________________________
Mr. Brown also wrote and contributed the following, which can be considered a postscript to the essay above:
"Buffalo hunters had already been in the Texas panhandle hunting before Koogle arrived in 1876. A famous battle between panhandle Indians and buffalo hunters had occurred at the Adobe Walls trading post in 1874. Today some of the early hunters are famous. They include the Indian fighter Billy Dixon, hero of Adobe Walls, the Cator brothers [James and Arthur] of Zulu Stockade, Frank Collinson the writer and John Wright Mooar. Mooar had hunted along the southern part of the Caprock and and was in the Texas panhandle just after an Adobe Walls battle. Most of these Texas buffalo hunters are surely more famous today than Bill Koogle has ever been. It is probably due to the fact that biographies and articles have been written about these brave men and sometimes by them. If it were not for the fact that Will Lewis, the famous panhandle rancher, had been Koogle's nephew, perhaps after Laura V. Hamner's lone paragraph above it should have been stated: This will be Bill Koogle's only mention in West Texas history except for a footnote or two.
It is a fact, however, that Koogle's death in Clarendon was reported in the [June 18, 1915 edition of the] Grand Valley Times newspaper, out in Grand County, Utah where he had lived a number of years, later in life:
"William C. Koogle died in Clarendon, TX on June 1, 1915. He was well-known throughout this section of Utah, having been engaged in prospecting in the La Sal mountains for the past fifteen years. He died at his sister's home in Clarendon." [Click here to see the actual announcement.]
Irregardless of how unknown Bill Koogle is in western history, he is still remembered around Clarendon and Claude as the buffalo hunter that killed off the big herds in Palo Duro Canyon. But he has long been forgotten as the founder and owner of the now defunct Half Circle K Ranch that Col. Charles Goodnight just thought he had to have!"
____________________________________________________________
1850 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age: 0
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1850: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Gender: Male
Family Number: 612
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 44 [wheelwright]
Catharine Koogle 61 [sic; 41]
Mary E Koogle 15
Thomas W Koogle 12
Harriet A Koogle 10
Adam C Koogle 9
Virginie C Koogle 5
Janette F Koogle 3
William C Koogle 0 [sic; actually, it shows "9/12"]
Daniel Gettz 21 [wheelwright]
George Syler 30 [laborer]
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: William Carlton Koogle
Age: 10
Birth Year: abt 1850
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Maryland
Home in 1860: Middletown, Frederick, Maryland
Post Office: Middletown
Family Number: 538
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 54
Catherine Koogle 51
Thomas Koogle 22
Hariett Koogle 17
Christian Koogle 18
Jeneth Koogle 14
Jenney Koogle 13
William Carlton Koogle 10
Zacheriah Koogle 21
Robert Thompson 35
1870 United States Federal Census
Name: Willie Koogle
Age in 1870: 20
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1870: District 3, Frederick, Maryland
Race: White
Gender: Male
Post Office: Middletown
Household Members: Name Age
Adam Koogle 63
Catharine Koogle 59
Thomas W Koogle 33
Adam C Koogle 26
Jennie C Koogle 24
Willie Koogle 20
Geo Delaughter 20
Ada Smith 7
James Mathews 23
Luther Brunner 11
Anna Butler 26
Schuyler Butler 1
1880 United States Federal Census
Name: Wm. C. Koogle
Age: 30
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1880: Donley, Texas
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Occupation: Ranche Builder
Household Members: Name Age
Wm. C. Koogle 30
Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985
Name: William Koogle
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 27 Dec 1883
Marriage Place: Missouri
Record Place: Jackson, Missouri, USA
Certificate Number: 1883K0040092
Household Members: Name
William Koogle
Carrie Shannon
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: W C Koogle
Age: 50
Birth Date: Oct 1849
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1900: Basin, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Marriage Year: 1884
Years Married: 16
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Household Members: Name Age
Robt W King 34
Wm Peterson 39
W C Koogle 50
1910 United States Federal Census
Name: William C Koogle
Age in 1910: 60
Birth Year: abt 1850
Birthplace: Maryland
Home in 1910: Castleton, Grand, Utah
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Father's Birthplace: Maryland
Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
Native Tongue: English
Occupation: Miner
Employer, Employee or Other: Own Account
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
Farm or House: House
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Years Married: 33
Survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy: CA [sic; the code in column 30 is actually "OA" and has nothing to do with any Civil War service. T.N.]
Household Members: Name Age
William C Koogle 60
Inscription
IN MEMORY OF W. C. KOOGLE
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
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