Matt Warner

Matt Warner. (1864 - 1938). American figure from the American Old West who was a farmer, cowboy, rancher, ferryman, cattle rustler, bank robber, justice of the peace, lawman, and bootlegger. Born Willard Erastus Christiansen, he changed his name in his teens when he became an outlaw.

Noteworthy

• Raised as a Mormon in Utah.
• Around age 14 mistakenly believed he had killed another boy ran away from home, changed his name, and started to rustle cattle.
• Robbed several banks with Tom McCarthy and Butch Cassidy.
• Several times when he was arrested he got off by hiring good lawyers and bribing juries.
• As a hired gunman killed two alleged claim jumpers, which resulted in his conviction of manslaughter and subsequent imprisonment despite a robust defense funded largely by his outlaw friend Butch Cassidy.
• In 1900 Utah governor Heber M. Wells released and pardoned Warner if he promised to go straight and serve the law. Warner accepted.
• He served for a time as a justice of the peace and deputy sheriff of Carbon County, and worked night patrol for Price City Police until he died.
• Warner also raised horses and for a time ran a saloon.
• Matt Warner Reservoir in Uintah County, Utah, is named in his honor.
• Books: Last of the Bandit Riders, published posthumously by Caxton Printers in 1940. Republished in 2000 by Big Moon Traders.

Controversies

• Criminal activities.

Quotations

• Matt_Warner_quotes

See Also

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Warner
• https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/10/05/the-american-west-matt-warner-the-outlaw-who-became-a-lawman/
• https://utahstories.com/2015/08/matt-warner-utahs-outlaw/

Image

Matt Warner as a young man.
Curtesy True West archives.