AFFORDABLE APPLIANCES AUSTIN

This is an old, undated photograph of a man named Farrell Tiernan. Mr. Tiernan was one of the many colorful characters who populated the Arizona Territory during the days of the Old West.

He was born in Ireland in 1828 and immigrated to the United States early in his life. At the outbreak of the United States Civil War, Mr. Tiernan was living in California and enlisted into service in the Union Army as a soldier in Company E of the 6th California Infantry. He participated in some minor skirmishes in California during his service. He was discharged from the Army in 1865.

In the years immediately following the Civil War, people from across the United States and across the world made the arduous journey to the Arizona Territory; Mr. Tiernan was among them and settled in the area of what is now Prescott, Arizona.

During his lifetime, he worked at a variety of jobs including mining and ranching. He developed the tough spirit necessary to survive the harsh conditions of the remote Arizona Territory.

He was no stranger to trouble. The September 30, 1896 edition of the Arizona Journal Miner reported the following regarding him:

"A disturbance took place early this morning on Montezuma Street, which nearly terminated in a tragedy. A drunken Mexican pulled a gun on Farrell Tiernan, and the latter got a move on his old soldier legs, and got behind the breast works. Later, the son of manyana turned the gun loose, and perforated the ceiling. He was run in by Under Sheriff Dillon and can whoop it up for the county hereafter."

Mr. Farrell was also known to be a teller of tall tales. The November 17, 1897 edition of the Arizona Journal Miner reported the following regarding him:

"Farrell Tiernan is shaking hands with his friends here, after an absence of several weeks. He says he has just returned from the Arctic seas, where he was shipwrecked trying to get to the Klondike. This is the story as told by Mr. Tiernan, but as he is a great 'josher,' his friends state that his Klondike trip extended no further than his stock range in the Verde Valley.

Mr. Tiernan spent his final years living in the Prescott area. His days as a hard drinker finally caught up with him when he died on February 24, 1909 as a result of cirrhosis of the liver. He was laid to rest in the Citizens Cemetery in Prescott. His grave is marked with a government issued military marker commemorating his service during the Civil War.

Arizona Photo Mosaic