Charles Angelo Siringo, Italian American Cowboy

The remarkable career of Charles Angeio Siringo is well-known in the lore of the Old West, and, as a cowboy, detective, memoirist and biographer, he has become somewhat of a folk hero. An exploration into the life of Siringo can be justified because of his Italian roots and his rural background. Most of his life was spent on the land. As he helped shape the environment he likewise was shaped by it. Siringo was born February 7, 1855, in Matagorda County, Texas. Baptized Angeio, he soon became known as Charlie. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish. He considered this to be of some importance when he related in the 1885 edition of his famous book, A Texas Cowboy: