Pearl Hart, Lady Bandit of Arizona

public profile

Is your surname Taylor?

Connect to 221,066 Taylor profiles on Geni

Pearl Hart, Lady Bandit of Arizona's Geni Profile

Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love

  • Build your family tree online
  • Share photos and videos
  • Smart Matching™ technology
  • Free!

Pearl Taylor (1876 - 1955)

Also Known As: "Talo Halo", "Bandit Queen", "Lady Bandit", "Pearl Taylor Hart", "Pearl Bywater", "Caroline Hartwell"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Lindsey Township, Toronto Division, ON, Canada
Death: December 28, 1955 (79)
Perhaps, Gila County, AZ, United States
Immediate Family:

Daughter of James Taylor
Wife of Frederick Hart
Partner of Joe Boot
Mother of Little Joe Hart and Emma Hart

Occupation: stagecoach robber
WikiPedia:
Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:
view all

Immediate Family

About Pearl Hart, Lady Bandit of Arizona

Pearl “Bandit Queen” (Taylor) Hart was a folk figure and outlaw of the American old West. During her sentencing, it is reported Pearl said, “I shall not consent to be tried under a law in which my sex had no voice in making.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Hart

Pearl Hart (born Pearl Taylor; c. 1871 – after 1955). She committed one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the United States, and her crime gained notoriety primarily because of her gender. Many details of Hart's life are uncertain, with available reports being varied and often contradictory. She is acknowledged as the only known female stagecoach robber in Arizona's history, earning her the nicknames of “Bandit Queen” or “Lady Bandit”.


Governor Lieut. Col. Alexander Brodie helped arrange the pardon of Pearl Hart on moral grounds. At the time, the outlaw was the only female at the Yuma Territorial Prison and her presence was causing disruptions as guards and other prisoners vied for her attentions. The December 1902 pardon was made on the condition that Hart leave the territory, a condition she quickly fulfilled.


https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-pearlhart/

As to what happened to Pearl Hart in the end, it remains unknown. Some reports say that she died in Kansas City where she operated a cigar store in 1925. Others say that she was living in San Francisco, California when she died in 1952. Most often, however; she is credited with having married a rancher in Dripping Springs, Arizona, where she lived out the last days of her life going by the name of Pearl Bywater and died in 1956.

Though she is often credited with being the last person to ever rob a stagecoach, this is untrue as the last actual stage robbery took place on December 5, 1916, near Jarbridge, Nevada. During the hold-up, the bandit, Ben Kuhl, killed the driver and made off with more than $3,000 in gold coins.

Hart is also frequently credited as being the only woman to ever hold up a stagecoach. This is also untrue, as Jane Kirkham was killed when robbing a stagecoach along the road between Leadville and Buena Vista, Colorado on March 7, 1879.


http://www.copperarea.com/pages/the-ballad-of-pearl-hart/

After her release from prison Pearl Hart disappears from certainty in the historical record. Some claim that she appeared on the vaudeville stage in a play about her exploits as the lady bandit in a show bankrolled by William Randolph Hearst. Others state that she may have briefly appeared in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. There were rumors that she ran a gang of pickpockets in Kansas City, while others place her in this fine metropolis but believe she only ran a cigar store while there. There was even one anecdote about a tour guide leading a group through the old Pima County Jail when at the end of the tour a little old lady came up and confessed. “Thanks for showing me where I stayed for awhile. I’m Pearl Hart.” Then she walked away.

The last theories about Pearl Hart’s whereabouts come from some old time Arizona pioneers who believe that she settled down as a ranchers wife on a homestead outside Globe, not far from Cane Springs and the site of the stagecoach robbery which provided her moment of celebrity infamy.

The woman who some believe might have been Pearl Hart passed away on December 30, 1955 as the wife of George Calvin Bywater.

References

Pearl Hart, born Taylor, (c. 1871 – after 1928 (1955?)) was a Canadian-born outlaw of the American Old West. She committed one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the United States; her crime gained notoriety primarily because of her gender. Many details of Hart's life are uncertain with available reports being varied and often contradictory.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Hart

NOTE: It is unsure if this is her death certificate as some sources claim that she lived with her long-time husband George Calvin Bywater.

view all

Pearl Hart, Lady Bandit of Arizona's Timeline

1876
November 13, 1876
Lindsey Township, Toronto Division, ON, Canada
1877
1877
1877
1955
December 28, 1955
Age 79
Perhaps, Gila County, AZ, United States