Individual Details
William Averill Comstock
(17 Jan 1842 - 16 Aug 1868)
The birth of William Averill Comstock as 17 Jan 1842 was certified by Eleazer & Sabina Wakeley during the adoption proceedings of sister Fannie. An affadavit made 14 Jan 1862 gives information from the family Bible of Horace H. Comstock.
William was found in 1850, living with his uncles, Daniel D. & Dwight L. Comstock in Corning, NY. He may also have spent part of his youth with his sister Sabina at his Aunt Rocepha's in Wisconsin and may even have moved with them to Omaha. In 1860 he was enumerated in Cottonwood Springs with other frontier characters.
The 1861 Petition of Daniel D. Comstock to administer the estate of his brother Horace named William as being of Pike's Peak, Nebraska Territory. William was still a minor at that time.
Will Comstock was an Indian Scout, worked under Gen. Custer, and was killed by Indians while on a Scouting mission. He was known as "Medicine Bill" The Comstock book has an article about him in the Appendix. The date given for his death was 27 Aug, but the article by Gray has a copy of a letter from Ft. Wallace, Kansas, dated 19 Aug 1868, stating that William Comstock was shot 16 Aug 1868. The records from Ft. Wallace contain references to Judge Wakeley [his brother-in-law] in connection with the settlement of Will's affairs after his death.
In a story about Buffalo Bill, which appeared in the Morning Republican, newspaper of Little Rock, Arkansas, 12 May 1873, there seems to be a reference to William Comstock.
At some point he Buffalo Bill's career he acquired that nickname because of his expertise in killing buffalo for the railroad. He supposedly challenged any man to kill as many cattle and his challenge was accepted by "a man named Comstock". The match took place on the Kansas plains, witnessed by a thousand persons. The prize was $500, and the hunt was to last an entire day. When the slain buffalo were counted, bill had killed 69, while Comstock had killed only 54.
Events
| Birth | 17 Jan 1842 | Comstock, Kalamazoo County, Michigan |  | ||
| Death | 16 Aug 1868 | Kansas | |
Families
| Father | Horace Hawkins Comstock (1807 - 1861) |
| Mother | Sarah Sabina Cooper (1810 - 1846) |
| Sibling | Sarah Sabina Comstock (1834 - 1918) |
| Sibling | Julia Hamilton Comstock (1840 - 1904) |
| Sibling | Frances Oathwaite Comstock (1844 - ) |
Endnotes
1. John Adams Comstock of Del Mar, California, A History and Genealogy of the Comstock Family in America, (Los Angeles, CA: The Commonwealth Press, Inc., 1949).
2. John S. Gray, "Will Comstock, Scout," Montana: The Magazine of Western History 20 (Summer 1970): 2-15.
3. John Adams Comstock of Del Mar, California, A History and Genealogy of the Comstock Family in America, (Los Angeles, CA: The Commonwealth Press, Inc., 1949).
4. John S. Gray, "Will Comstock, Scout," Montana: The Magazine of Western History 20 (Summer 1970): 2-15.