Deaths with Dignity

A Tombstone woman ensured doomed men received some respect.

Nellie Cashman made a name for herself in Tombstone, as a successful businesswoman as well as a philanthropist. She became involved in a number of unusual efforts around town. Case in point: the hangings of five men involved in the Bisbee Massacre. Just before they were executed in March 1884, Cashman and helpers tore down a grandstand built for the spectacle. She visited the doomed men in jail, praying and bringing them food. And when she learned that a medical school planned to steal the bodies, Nellie posted guards at their Boot Hill grave.