Aldrich, Roy Wilkinson

At the time of his death in 1955, Roy Wilkinson Aldrich had served in the Texas Rangers longer than any other man, 32 years, from his enlistment in 1915 to retirement in 1947 at the age of 78. From the days of the horseback Ranger of the frontier to the modern era of automobile and airplane, Aldrich built his career upon the major law-enforcement issues of Texas in the early Twentieth Century: The violence along the Mexican border stemming from the Mexican Revolution, from World War I, and from the smuggling of liquor during Prohibition; racist and other mob violence; and the problems associated with the oil boomtowns, the gambling, prostitution, illegal liquor, unethical officials, and general lawlessness, all challenged the abilities of the Texas Rangers through the 1930s.

Born in Quincy, Illinois, September 17, 1869, Aldrich was raised in Golden City, Missouri, the son of a wealthy banker, Joseph Wilkinson Aldrich. Though he attended school only six months, Roy Aldrich was well educated at home by his mother, Georgia Ann Wakeman Aldrich, and he enjoyed a widely varied and highly adventurous life before joining the Texas Rangers.

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