There were TWO Tom Three Persons/ Threepersons Indians
- Red Nichols the Holstorian
- Dec 6, 2022
- 2 min read
This single restoration will take several of my posts off the restored list; I wrote 'early and often' about Tom and it was my quest to find out which of the two Indians' holster I owned at the time -- it is the Texan's -- that resulted in the research that led to publishing Holstory the Book.
In no particular order:
His holster of circa 1920, on the evidence made by an Arizona saddlery called Egland & Frankenpohl, is on the cover of the Second Edition along with one of his three revolvers. Both men formerly had been with Arizona Saddlery prior to 1919 when they set up shop in a town frequented by Tom himself, Douglas AZ; where he had joined the U.S. Army to serve WW1. All his guns are pictured at the book's center along with many LEO guns such as FBI agent Jerry Campbell's and more.
Tom of Texas is mentioned in Sam Myres' first gunleather catalog that was 1930. It was Myres that dubbed the holster "Tom Threepersons Style Holsters" for which he earned a royalty.
Above undated and likely on his NM ranch; below he is with Texas Ranger Lee Trimble. Both holsters shown are unidentifiable here.
Below, the badges he would have worn but these are not necessarily his examples except the first one; which itself is troubling because these badges, made in California, were not issued with the deputy's name on them. Below, EPSO:
Below, a U.S. Treasury badge; it was Frank Hamer's. The badge held in The Autry museum with Tom's name on it was surely his but it is not a genuine Treasury badge; it's more of an 'homage' to the real thing and made from a Mexican coin.
And an EPPD badge, below. Tom's, worn on his cap, was number 42.
And the Border medal which he received late in life simply for being enlisted WW1. There is a case for Tom having been a spy for then-Lieutenant Patton for the Cardenas Ranch raid in MX 1916 when he joined the U.S.A.:
Tom's stint as a Customs inspector led to major coverage of his valor against smugglers; the but the articles all were written by his captive newspaper reporter Eugene Cunningham and even the head of Customs disavowed the tales as myths:
To read more about it all in my book titled "Holstory -- Gunleather of the Twentieth Century
-- the Second Edition", click on the new link at top of page.
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