Person Record

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1 of 1977 Manny Gault

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Name

Gault, Benjamin M. "Manny"

Othernames

Manny or Maney or Mannie Gault

Born

06/21/1886

Birthplace

Travis County, Texas

Father

John McCain Gault

Mother

Minnie Rose Linden Gault

Notes

Maney Gault’s career as a Texas Ranger started in 1929 after his friend, Texas Ranger Capt. Frank Hamer, recruited him into the Headquarters Company in Austin. Hamer and Gault worked seamlessly together as Rangers up until Miriam "Ma" Ferguson was re-elected as governor of Texas. When "Ma" won, she fired every Ranger. While Gault found work with the Texas Highway Patrol, Hamer took on sporadic detective and security assignments. That’s what he was doing when when Lee Simmons, head of the Texas Prison System, recruited Hamer to hunt down the Barrow Gang.
Frank Hamer specifically chose Manny Gault as his partner in the investigative work of tracking down Bonnie and Clyde. Frank Hamer had known Maney Gault since the mid-1920s, when they were neighbors in Austin.
Three years after his role in tracking down and killing Bonnie and Clyde, Maney Gault returned to the Texas Rangers. Within five years, Maney Gault was promoted to Captain of C Company in Lubbock. His territory covered some 94 counties in west Texas, extending from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande. During the 10 years he served as captain, Gault solved many cases involving murder, bank robbery and cattle rustling. Gault served ten years with distinction until his death in 1947.