John Tunstall

John Henry Tunstall, born in London, England, became a rancher and merchant in Lincoln County, New Mexico, where he competed with Irish Catholic merchants, lawmen, and politicians who ran the town of Lincoln and the county. Tunstall, who hoped to unseat the Irish and make a fortune as the County's new boss, was the first man killed in the Lincoln County War, an economic and political conflict that resulted in armed warfare, between rival gangs of cowboys and the ranchers, lawmen, and politicians who issued the orders.