Traveling with Leazur Jones were his slave wife, Elizabeth (9-26-1827 to 4-28-1877), and children Ellen, Josie, George Anne and Jim. This presented no problem for Eugie, she just went to the bank and returned all the uncashed checks to the government. Your email address will not be published. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. WebGap,qv to Horsehead (on some old maps marked Dead Horse) Crossing. But when Chisum sought help from troops at Fort Stanton, the commanding officers insisted it was a civil matter. He marked the left ear of his cattle by inserting a knife in the middle of the calfs ear and cutting straight to the tip. Chisum died December 2, 1884 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and was buried beside his parents in Paris, Texas. When we arrived at old Red River Station, where the old Chisholm Trail crossed, we found the river up and several herds waiting to cross, writes G.W. One day the mail carrier brought a letter from Washington, D.C., stating that Eugie could have her land back, but that the government also wanted all of the money returned. available in multiple sizes, descriptive and downloadable metadata available in other formats, New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1877-1939, /ark:/67531/metapth44623/metadata.untl.xml, /oai/?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&identifier=info:ark/67531/metapth44623, /ark:/67531/metapth44623/metadata.mets.xml, /stats/stats.json?ark=ark:/67531/metapth44623, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth44623/. In 1877, Captain Joseph Calloway Lea and his family bought out Smith and Wilburn's claim and became the owners of most of the land of Roswell and the area surrounding it. WebPhotograph of the Chisum Ranch. As a youngster Chisum received the nickname Cow John, as he spent most of his time at the stables raising and managing livestock. Creator: Unknown. But Wiley was clearly distraught, so Chisum asked him how much his entire herd was worth. In it, he wrote admiringly of Bonney and described events of the time and place from the perspective of native New Mexicans. In 1880, they persuaded Pat Garrett, a former buffalo hunter and cowboy, reformed part-time rustler, small rancher, and Billy the Kids one-time friend,[citation needed] to run for the office of Lincoln County sheriff. standards, project requests, and our services. American businessman, rancher (18241884), History of New Mexico: Its Resources and People, Volume 2 By George B. Anderson, Pacific States Publishing Co page 1023, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly - Volume 76, Issues 1-3 - 1972, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, "John Chisum: Jinglebob King of the Pecos", In the Shadow of Billy the Kid: Susan McSween and the Lincoln County War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Chisum&oldid=1147828162, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 April 2023, at 12:48. People and organizations associated with either the creation of this photograph or its content. John would work at various jobsan overseer on the building of a new road, a real-estate speculator like his father and a clerk in a dry goods storeand for a time serve as the Lamar County clerk in Paris. There is a good fishing hole at the end of her road, but she keeps it open so that people can get to the "place where the fish always bite." WebThe Texas Department of Agriculture says the state has 247,500 farms and ranches totaling 130.4 million acres. The museum accomplishes this by providing exhibitions and programs that enable its users to understand and learn from the past in ways that enrich their present lives and help them shape a better future. That was where the 60-year-old cattleman died on December 22, 1884. The community is also served by the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell campus and the New Mexico Youth Guard ChalleNGe Academy. Trailing steers to Arizona was nothing knew for Chisum. In 1874, Bob traveled once again to Bonham and returned with Almeady as his bride to Medlin. The ranch house is shrouded in trees and has a large front porch and tall chimney. John Chisum had his famous Jingle Bob Ranch about 5 miles (8 km) from the center of Roswell, at South Spring Acres. John Simpson Chisum left a trail across the American West so wide that a blind scout could follow it. By far the most popular song chronicling the trail drives, the Chisholm Trail moniker for all trails stuck. In the mid-1870s, Chisum was the largest cattle producer in the nation, with as many as 80,000 longhorn steers in his herd. Sallie was a lively, pretty, fairhaired girl, and young Billy is said to have had a healthy interest in the opposite sex. collections, new partnerships, information on research, trivia, In 1875, he purchased the 40 acre South Spring Ranch, three miles south of Roswell, New Mexico and You can enjoy this exhibit year around at the Roswell Museum. The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum connects the present generation to the history of farming and ranching in New Mexico, inspiring a deeper appreciation and understanding of the states rich heritage. The town was relatively quiet during the Lincoln County War (18771879). In this crossing one of the boys had a horse which refused to swim, and the man had to jump off onto a wild steers back, but with pluck made a safe landing on the other side.. They killed twenty-five of our beeves and skinned them right there, eating the flesh raw and with blood running down their faces. For the next several years, the Chisums brought thousands of head to this New Mexico Territory camp. We hit the water about 10 oclock and crossed our herd first, four other herds following. He was portrayed by John Wayne in the 1970 movie of the same name, and, in reality John Chisum did gain fame as the Cattle King of the Pecos, when Other children were Jim, Virgie, Artie, Harriett, June and Emory. There he lived until as a grown young man he purchased land in Bolivar, Denton County, Texas, to establish his ranching empire. He claimed paying $2,500 for the property, but sources record a trade of 2,400 head of cattle, and improvements located on the South Spring. Nominally, the phrase Chisholm Trail, has come to be interpreted by todays culture as any herd of cattle driven across the prairie. Sallie kept a diary or journal that has historical importance because of its references to Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, both of whom she knew. John Chisum had his famous Jingle Bob Ranch about 5 miles from the center of Roswell, at South Spring Claibornes father was also a surveyor, and they were frequently paid in real estate they would add to the family plantation. The 20th century kept Roswell on the map. I managed to hold 236 head the balance of the night, and when daylight came we worked the bunches back together and made a count and found that we had lost over three hundred head, which meant some tall rustling for the boys.. In November of that year he transferred his livestock holdings to the St. Louis cattle-contracting firm of Hunter, Evans & Co. The family pushed on, and that spring found them building a two-story log cabin on a hillside just west of what would soon become known as the township of Paris, Texas. The song The Ballad of John Chisum was narrated by William Conrad, the song Turn Me Around was sung by Merle Haggard. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; Chisholm is often confused with John Chisum, who drove cattle along a trail from his Texas ranch to another he owned in New Mexico. Longhorn cattle, wild stampedes, perilous river crossings, clashes with Native cultures, and, ultimately, wild celebrations in some dusty, trail-terminus cow town. Drought and Comanche raids also hampered cattle operations in the Denton area. In the end, neither McCoy nor the cattlemen made much money that year. Roswell is diversifying itself as a center for the arts with an International Artist-in-Residence program, a focus on tourism, a flexible university which supports the industrial interested students, health care, as well as the new multi-media and upcoming film industry which has found New Mexico and southeast New Mexico to be friendly and welcoming hosts. That's when a object that crashed in the area in late June or early July of 1947 was alleged to be an extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. On February 25, 1889, the New Mexico Legislature decided to carve out a portion of Lincoln County land to create Chaves and Eddy counties. Sam Houston, and others, called on Chisholm for his skills as an interpreter and guide in many of the early Native American councils prior to the Civil War. Carmel Church. endowment Fact and fiction surround Chisums involvement in the famous Lincoln County War. So named from a semi-civilized Indian who is said to have traveled it first. All rights reserved. I don't worry or grieve. As most families in the last part of the 19th century, Bob and Meady were self-sustaining farmers raising a vegetable garden and orchard, chickens, hogs, milk cows, sheep and planting cotton and corn for the livestock. When they came up to our herd they began killing our beeves without asking permission or paying any attention to us. Seeing a demand for beef in the east and a supply of beef in the south, he worked with railroads to establish freight contracts from Kansas to eastern markets. They relocated in 2009 to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and maintain a vast exhibition dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of the cattle industry. They didnt expect to be taken quite so seriously. Murphy & Co. (known as the House), run by James Dolan and John Riley, affiliated with Lawrence G. Murphys Flying H Ranch (northwest of Fort Stanton) and mortgaged to U.S. Attorney Thomas Benton Catron of Santa Fe. Historic newspapers digitized from across the Red River. The rains were plentifultoo much soand as the herds arrived in Abilene, the grass was soft and washy according to McCoy. He was portrayed by John Wayne in the 1970 movie of the same name, and, in reality John Chisum did gain fame as the Cattle King of the Pecos, when establishing a headquarters at Bosque Grande in New Mexico, and claiming a range extending more than 150 miles down the river. Debts were always settled when his "crops came in." In 1868 Chisum formed a partnership with Goodnight (Comanches had killed Oliver Loving the previous year). Today, of course, wild crossings of the Red River are a distant memory as irrigation has all but dried it up. John is said to have driven one of the wagons. White tenant farmers worked on the Jones Land. Predictably, Eugie was the first to learn to drive and the first place the family went in their new car was to church. At the time it was the largest ranch in the United States. The four-year high school and two-year junior college has been the breeding ground for many, many talented young men and women in Roswell, New Mexico, and the United States. In 1914, five of the girls and two of the boys joined forces with Meady to buy a new Ford. In January 1993, Corbett died of lung cancer at the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in San Antonio, Texas at the age of 59. The Kid promised to steal $500 worth of cattle from Chisum to make up this sum. Upon his release Chisum hastened to the Canadian River country, far from the escalating violence in Lincoln County. The next year Chisum was elected clerk ofLamar County, and he served in that post from 1852 to 1854. Paulita had a daughter, but the date of her birth has always been in doubt, and she died at about 16, Lincoln County historian Drew Gomber says. City of Roswell 425 N Richardson Roswell, NM 88201. In 1948, the family home burned destroying many of the family records. The property is This philosophy of life has been the guideline of Eugie Jones Thomas, the granddaughter of John Simpson Chisum, for 90 years. [1] The ranch was established in 1874 by John Chisum, to serve as headquarters of his wide-ranging cattle operations. Originally published in the August 2014 issue of Wild West. They reached the Pecos River near Horsehead Crossing, pushed about 1,000 cattle up the east side to Popes Crossing, forded to the west side of the river and then headed up the Pecos Valley to Fort Sumner. In 1976, a great-grandson of Bob Jones' will graduate from Northwest High School in the same school district that would not educate his children. It also holds a long history of appointing its graduates to West Point and other military academies, as well as important appointments in the nation's illustrious military forces. Chisum managed to keep out of harms way in both the Pecos War and the Lincoln County War, but he became embroiled in several legal battles. Under the alias Kid Curry, outlaw Harvey Logan gained infamy but whether he was the deadliest member of the Wild Bunch is debatable. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net. Is there any truth to the movie gladiator? Creation Date: Unknown. to improve everyone's access to primary sources online. He called his operation The Long Rail after his brand a horizontal line across the side of his cows. He died in 1867the first year the herds began to follow his route. For the next four years Chisum and hands drove his cattle to Vicksburg, Miss., and Shreveport, La., though John showed little interest in the Southern cause. All right, Mr. Chisum, he said, but only for the present. According to one reliable account, Bonney demanded $500, and Chisum, after refusing, found himself staring down the barrel of a well-used Colt revolver. I have lived a good true life - a Christian and faithful life. He brought alot of pretty girls from Fort Worth and Dallas to the dance party that would sometimes last for a week. Eugie recalls that "Daddy was a good dancer, full of life and liked to holler during the square dances." accessed April 5, 2023), Your support aids students of all ages, rural communities, Chisum appeared on the masthead as president, Tunstall as vice president and McSween as secretary-treasurer. The procession which followed his body to the grave, read one account, was the largest ever seen in that town, and numbers of his old friends from every portion of Texas helped to swell the sorrowing throng.. Settlers began to arrive and edge onto his range with small herds of cattle that would stray into his larger herds. For 37 years, the departments Family Land Heritage Program has been So many cattle have been driven over the trail in the last few years that a broad highway is tread out looking much like a national highway; so plain, a fool could not fail to keep in it.. He started a ranch there in the Bosque Grande, about 40 miles south of Fort Sumner. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The images evoked from those two words are the heart and soul of the American cowboy lore. Some maps show the next trail to the west being called the Chisholm. In 1864 Chisum moved his Longhorns to Coleman County, near the junction of the Colorado and Concho rivers. "I have always worked and I have always been happy. Bob Jones had divided his land among his children and Eugie "swapped" with brother, Emory, so that she retained the "home place." Im an old man now. Billy relented. Did Dave Rudabaugh and Billy the Kid ride together? Billys relationship with Sallie Chisum, the 20-year-old niece of John and daughter of James, probably attracts more attention. Billy the Kid escaped from prison and went to see Chisum to collect a $500 debt. Where was the Chisum Ranch located? John Simpson Chisum was born August 16, 1824, in Hardeman County, Tennessee, the second child of 16-year-old Lucinda Armstrong, who had married a cousin twice her age, surveyor and farmer Claiborne C. Chisum, 33. By the early 1860s, he had more than 100,000 head of cattle and became one of the first to send his herds into New Mexico. He started a ranch there in the Bosque Grande, about 40 miles south of Fort Sumner. During thee years, Chisum provided a home in Bonham, Texas, and financial support, for two daughters he had with former slave Jensie. He liked what he saw in Lamar County, below the Red River on the extreme western frontier of the Lone Star State. Up on the Canadian River, Sallie Chisum noted in her diary: Weve just been informed that McSweens house has been burned and McSween has been killed. Two girls, Harriett and Meady (April 13, 1857) were born in Gainesville where Chisum has taken Jensie to a boarding house for the birth of the children. It also had many Hispanic people from Lincoln, NM. But she did not miss out completely on the domestic side of life, Meady saw to it that she helped with drying the fruit from the orchard and corn for the livestock and helping with the community canning club that went from house o house on different days of the week. Within a short time Chisum, based at his Bolivar ranch, became one of the most substantial ranchers in Texas. Ultimately, Chisum, Pecos Valley rancher Joseph C. Lea, and James Dolan sought somebody capable of hunting down the Kid and either arresting or killing him. It seems his stock had drifted downriver and mingled with Chisums herd. John Simpson Chisum (August 16, 1824 December 22, 1884) was a wealthy cattle baron in the American West in the mid-to-late 19th century.
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He slowed down considerably and then turned over operations at the ranch to brother James and Will Robert, who had married Sallie Chisum in 1880. Someone, probably McSween himself, had promised his men Chisum would stand good, but Chisum himself never promised them anything. Required fields are marked *. That August, Goodnight and Loving set out on their second drive up what would become known as the Goodnight-Loving Trail, this time departing from Trickham, Texas. Pioneer cattle baron John Simpson Chisum was born August 16, 1824, in Tennessee. His family moved to Red River County, Texas, when he was a boy. His father, Claiborne Chisum a public-spirited and wealthy man was probably the earliest settler in Paris, Texas. As a teenager John found work as a store clerk in Paris and a building contractor. WebMar 112013. WebFind local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. - Sat., 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Museum & Gift Shop closed on Sun. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth44623/: Located in Chaves County, Roswell is a growing city that is home to a thriving population of almost 50,000 residents. Chisum returned to visit them on several occasions. Without those experiments, the United States would have later not won their race to the moon and begun the human race's early space exploration. Chisum became one of the major stock men in North Central Texas before the Civil War. In Texas, stampedes were the first danger. During the War, he supplied cattle to the Confederacy. Did Paulita Maxwell have Billy the Kids child? Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Doc Holliday did not ride with Billy the Kid. The City of Chisum is located in Chaves County in the State of New Mexico. Check out our Resources for Educators Site! The family changed the spelling to Chisum in 1815. University of Oklahoma Libraries The Kid spoke Spanish fluently and was well-liked by the Hispanos of the Pecos River Valley, who told many stories about el Chivato, their colloquial Spanish for a young goat or kid. Remarkably, this brief stretch of history, about a quarter century, has, in some ways, come to symbolize not only the cowboy and the West, but the American ethos. John Chisum was the earliest drover to go west toward the New Mexico Territory. Small ranchers complained that Chisum was stealing their cattle, while John countered that the newcomers had intruded onto his range and that the mingling of their cattle with his was the natural result. In truth, there were four main trails: the Shawnee, the Chisholm, the Western, and the Goodnight-Lovingand many other minor trails of various names. It stunned my horse and he fell to the ground, but was up in an instant and ready to go. Follow. The Portal to Texas History, Many of his deals were made with Richard Randolph Litsey - with only a handshake as collateral.
Debts were always settled when his "crops came in." In 1868 Chisum formed a partnership with Goodnight (Comanches had killed Oliver Loving the previous year). Today, of course, wild crossings of the Red River are a distant memory as irrigation has all but dried it up. John is said to have driven one of the wagons. White tenant farmers worked on the Jones Land. Predictably, Eugie was the first to learn to drive and the first place the family went in their new car was to church. At the time it was the largest ranch in the United States. The four-year high school and two-year junior college has been the breeding ground for many, many talented young men and women in Roswell, New Mexico, and the United States. In 1914, five of the girls and two of the boys joined forces with Meady to buy a new Ford. In January 1993, Corbett died of lung cancer at the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in San Antonio, Texas at the age of 59. The Kid promised to steal $500 worth of cattle from Chisum to make up this sum. Upon his release Chisum hastened to the Canadian River country, far from the escalating violence in Lincoln County. The next year Chisum was elected clerk ofLamar County, and he served in that post from 1852 to 1854. Paulita had a daughter, but the date of her birth has always been in doubt, and she died at about 16, Lincoln County historian Drew Gomber says. City of Roswell 425 N Richardson Roswell, NM 88201. In 1948, the family home burned destroying many of the family records. The property is This philosophy of life has been the guideline of Eugie Jones Thomas, the granddaughter of John Simpson Chisum, for 90 years. [1] The ranch was established in 1874 by John Chisum, to serve as headquarters of his wide-ranging cattle operations. Originally published in the August 2014 issue of Wild West. They reached the Pecos River near Horsehead Crossing, pushed about 1,000 cattle up the east side to Popes Crossing, forded to the west side of the river and then headed up the Pecos Valley to Fort Sumner. In 1976, a great-grandson of Bob Jones' will graduate from Northwest High School in the same school district that would not educate his children. It also holds a long history of appointing its graduates to West Point and other military academies, as well as important appointments in the nation's illustrious military forces. Chisum managed to keep out of harms way in both the Pecos War and the Lincoln County War, but he became embroiled in several legal battles. Under the alias Kid Curry, outlaw Harvey Logan gained infamy but whether he was the deadliest member of the Wild Bunch is debatable. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net. Is there any truth to the movie gladiator? Creation Date: Unknown. to improve everyone's access to primary sources online. He called his operation The Long Rail after his brand a horizontal line across the side of his cows. He died in 1867the first year the herds began to follow his route. For the next four years Chisum and hands drove his cattle to Vicksburg, Miss., and Shreveport, La., though John showed little interest in the Southern cause. All right, Mr. Chisum, he said, but only for the present. According to one reliable account, Bonney demanded $500, and Chisum, after refusing, found himself staring down the barrel of a well-used Colt revolver. I have lived a good true life - a Christian and faithful life. He brought alot of pretty girls from Fort Worth and Dallas to the dance party that would sometimes last for a week. Eugie recalls that "Daddy was a good dancer, full of life and liked to holler during the square dances." accessed April 5, 2023), Your support aids students of all ages, rural communities, Chisum appeared on the masthead as president, Tunstall as vice president and McSween as secretary-treasurer. The procession which followed his body to the grave, read one account, was the largest ever seen in that town, and numbers of his old friends from every portion of Texas helped to swell the sorrowing throng.. Settlers began to arrive and edge onto his range with small herds of cattle that would stray into his larger herds. For 37 years, the departments Family Land Heritage Program has been So many cattle have been driven over the trail in the last few years that a broad highway is tread out looking much like a national highway; so plain, a fool could not fail to keep in it.. He started a ranch there in the Bosque Grande, about 40 miles south of Fort Sumner. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The images evoked from those two words are the heart and soul of the American cowboy lore. Some maps show the next trail to the west being called the Chisholm. In 1864 Chisum moved his Longhorns to Coleman County, near the junction of the Colorado and Concho rivers. "I have always worked and I have always been happy. Bob Jones had divided his land among his children and Eugie "swapped" with brother, Emory, so that she retained the "home place." Im an old man now. Billy relented. Did Dave Rudabaugh and Billy the Kid ride together? Billys relationship with Sallie Chisum, the 20-year-old niece of John and daughter of James, probably attracts more attention. Billy the Kid escaped from prison and went to see Chisum to collect a $500 debt. Where was the Chisum Ranch located? John Simpson Chisum was born August 16, 1824, in Hardeman County, Tennessee, the second child of 16-year-old Lucinda Armstrong, who had married a cousin twice her age, surveyor and farmer Claiborne C. Chisum, 33. By the early 1860s, he had more than 100,000 head of cattle and became one of the first to send his herds into New Mexico. He started a ranch there in the Bosque Grande, about 40 miles south of Fort Sumner. During thee years, Chisum provided a home in Bonham, Texas, and financial support, for two daughters he had with former slave Jensie. He liked what he saw in Lamar County, below the Red River on the extreme western frontier of the Lone Star State. Up on the Canadian River, Sallie Chisum noted in her diary: Weve just been informed that McSweens house has been burned and McSween has been killed. Two girls, Harriett and Meady (April 13, 1857) were born in Gainesville where Chisum has taken Jensie to a boarding house for the birth of the children. It also had many Hispanic people from Lincoln, NM. But she did not miss out completely on the domestic side of life, Meady saw to it that she helped with drying the fruit from the orchard and corn for the livestock and helping with the community canning club that went from house o house on different days of the week. Within a short time Chisum, based at his Bolivar ranch, became one of the most substantial ranchers in Texas. Ultimately, Chisum, Pecos Valley rancher Joseph C. Lea, and James Dolan sought somebody capable of hunting down the Kid and either arresting or killing him. It seems his stock had drifted downriver and mingled with Chisums herd. John Simpson Chisum (August 16, 1824 December 22, 1884) was a wealthy cattle baron in the American West in the mid-to-late 19th century.