Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce

Abel Head Pierce, known as Shanghai Pierce (June 29, 1834 – December 26, 1900) was a Texas, USA, rancher. He was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island and was a direct descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, with nine generations in between. He was related to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, U.S. President Franklin Pierce, and Thomas Wentworth Pierce, builder of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Texas. At the age of nineteen, "Shanghai" stowed away on a ship in the New York harbor. He worked for his passage and arrived in Indianola, Texas, five months later without money or a job. He went to work for W. B. Grimes as a ranch hand. By shrewdness, hard work, and rugged determination he became an authority on cattle while working for Grimes. How Abel Head Pierce acquired the name "Shanghai" is a matter of speculation. J. Frank Dobie reported that it was due to Pierce's resemblance to a banty Shanghai rooster; long-legged and short-panted. Wharton County folklore holds that the name resulted from his ruthless business dealings. Pierce died on December 26, 1900. Pierce, Texas is named for him.

Fictional Portrayals

Ted de Corsia played Pierce in the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Roy Roberts was cast as Pierce in a 1957 episode of the ABC/Desilu Productions television series, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, with Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp, then the deputy marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. Douglas Fowley guest-starred with Roberts in the episode.