120 years

[Tap]

I was just thinking today that this is our family's 120th continuous year of ranching here in Harding County SD. It was actually my dad's step grandparents that settled here. They started out about 15 miles NW of here in 1886, and eventually moved down here a few years later. They came to Deadwood origionally to make a grubstake in the mines to start a ranch with.

There were darn few settlers then (they were settlers and not homesteaders as the state wasn't in existance till 1889), so news didn't travel very fast. Once when Sitting Bull was heard to be coming thru the area, and other ranchers all gathered up to defend themselves, my relatives didn't even know about it until afterwards. It turned out that it didn't happen that Sitting Bull came through that time, but it sure stirred up the few locals for a while. Another time, during the big blizzard of 1889(?) the man of the house was gone for some reason, and the Mrs. wanted to turn the stock out of the corral to find better shelter, but the hired man wouldn't let her. All the animals ended up perishing in the corral. So they had to start over.

They then went to raising remount horses for the war days, and then went to running sheep, then sheep and cattle, to present where we run all cattle.

I am wondering how long all of you have had your operations in the family, and if you see it continuing that way?

My kids would be the 5th generation if they choose to ranch here.

[Tap]

Another interesting fact (to me anyway ) is that my mothers family homesteaded right across the fence from my dad's. My mothers granddad was quite the character, and he put a lot of responsiblility on his kids. Once his son (my grandad) was supposed to haul a load of supplies home from Belle Fourche with a team and wagon when my grandad was about 12-14 years old or so. That would be about a 55 mile one way trip. For some reason, my grandpa headed west instead of north, and traveled a long ways before someone stopped him and got him turned around. Can you imagine that kind of responsibliity in a kid these days. Now we all have ulcers from worrying about trivial things, and most of us don't have to worry about finding food and shelter.

I feel fortunate to have an interesting family history, and live amoungst such good faithful neighbors and friends around this area. I hope the day never comes when we have to lock our doors.

I must be in a sentimental mood today or something.

[Big Muddy rancher]

Keep going Tap I think i can speak for all of us in that we are enjoying reading your history.

[Tap]

Thanks, maybe more later.
I wan't to hear yours too.

[TimH]

Great idea for a thread , Tap.

My Great-grandfather(paternal) came to this area in 1887. The original hometead is now owned by another family but there are many branches of our family(both sides) still raising cattle in this area. If any of my sons decide to stick around, that will make 5 generations ranching/farming in this area.
On my mother's side, I have a great-great-grandmother who was the first white baby to be born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, in 1888. Not a real big deal as the Indians had been having babies there for thousands of years already, but sort of interesting.

[Soapweed]

My great-granddad and his three brothers rode the train to Valentine in 1885, which was then the end of the railroad. They walked almost ninety miles further west and staked out their original homesteads. They then had to walk back to Valentine to file on their new land, making it legal. Our family has been in this area ever since, though not on the same original homesteads. When my dad was in his early twenties, he and his dad bought a ranch together. My dad has lived there continuously since 1946. The neighboring ranch came up for sale in 1985, so we traded other land that was thirty miles away for this land, and took possession of it on May 1, 1986. My wife, kids and I have lived here ever since. If any of our offspring choose to ranch, they will be the fifth generation to do so in Cherry County.

[Jinglebob]

Grampa's sister came out here in the late 1990's and married a man who was with the first party into the Black Hills. He would have been a young boy at the time. I think that was in 1874 or 1875.
Grampa came in 1900 and worked around until he homesteaded. His brother and two sister came out and took up homesteads, so Great Grampa and Great gramma hitched up the team and headed west, when they were about 50 years old, as all of their children were out here. Great grampa homestead around 1902, but gramps was too young and free to bother with filing until 1907 or so.

This place has 3 different 1/4 sections that were great grampa and 2 sons. We didn't get the other 1/4 's that belonged to grampa's sisters.

I am the 4th generation, but the folks didn't get me until they were 44 years old, so we kind'a skipped a generation there. My son is the 5th and my grandson is the 6th and i expect one or both to be here, when I want to quit.

Grampa regstered his brand, which we still use, in 1902. Guess we been here for over 100 years, but you know what they say, "a mill doesn't turn on water that has already ran past".

[Tap]

This is interesting, to say the least.

Soapweed, speaking of your ansestors, I hope Has Been is doing well. Has he been around ranchers.net lately? This kind of topic is just up his alley. I thought of him as I was posting it.

[Soapweed]

[Tap]

This area was always a better horse or sheep country until the water improvements came along. The rivers and creeks are pretty fair on the average years, but a dry year and they will get pretty "iffy". And the drainages can be many miles apart, so it is a long walk to a drink of water, as this is generally an arid country.

Back to a bit more of our family history.

During the remount days, there was a very large horse ranch over in the Slim Buttes called the JB Ranch. That stood for Jones brothers. They ran hundreds if not thousands of horses in a large area as it was still open range then mostly. I can't remember who it was for sure, probably a government man, but they asked Jones's for 100 hd. or something like that of a certain type of horse. Jones's were said to have asked them what color they wanted them in? My great grandparents bought a very high priced stud from them that would have been a lot of money in today's dollars. I don't really know how it all turned out for them, but probably ended after the war.

Then after they were gone, their older sons were running the ranch, and not paying a lot of attention to details as a lot of ranches around kind of seemed to be doing in that era. So they lost it to the county for delinquent taxes. My step grandpa (the younger son) stepped in and worked a deal out with the county to pay the back taxes, and took over from his brothers. Then he slowly built a sheep herd up and then got some cows in the 40's, and we slowly phased the sheep out by the middle 90's. Sheep were and are still a great animal for this shortgrass country, and they thrive here other than when we get bad storms, or bad predator problems. We sold them because of the predators, and the extra workload. There was an older sheepman that I used to visit in my batchelor days. He hated cows, and always said that he could winter a band of sheep on what a bunch of big mouthed SofB'n cows would waste. I think he might have been on to something, but give me a good range cow and I will be happy. Now that we have water everywhere, cows seem to work great.

Here's hoping for another 120 years.

[Faster horses]

All so very interesting. Thanks for sharing, everyone.

[HAY MAKER]

My grand parents moved to Charleston following the Civil War,they had been in the cattle,lumber buisness,until the civil war broke out,like a lot of southerners they lost every thing they owned,after the south fell,the union declared confederate money worthless,carpet baggers moved in,buying land,cattle, business,s for a penny on the dollar.
They tried to settle in Louisianna for a while,the Lake Charles area as I understand it,but kept moving always trying to get some place they could work farm and ranch in peace.
The country was torn in those days and a lot of good people were pursused relentlessly by the union forces.
I remember my grandma telling a story about some confederate soldiers when the south fell,it went something like this,each nite at the stroke of 12 she found herself awakened by the rumble of heavy wheels passing in the distance,but she had no explanation for the noise. Her husband would not allow her to look out the window when she heard the sounds, telling her to leave well enough alone. Finally, she asked the neighbor lady,if she hears the wagons at nite. The woman said: "What you are hearing is the Army of the Dead. They are Confederate soldiers who died in hospital without knowing that the war was over. Each night, they rise from their graves and go to reinforce Lee in Virginia to strengthen the weakened Southern forces."
The next night, grandma slipped out of bed to watch the Army of the Dead pass. She stood spell-bound by the window as a gray fog rolled passed. Within the fog, she could see the shapes of horses, and could hear gruff human voices and the rumble of canons being dragged , followed by the sound of marching feet. Foot soldiers, horsemen, ambulances, wagons and canons passed before her eyes, all shrouded in gray. After what seemed like hours, she heard a far off bugle blast, and then silence................The South Fell.
They moved on,on to this place called Texas.............good luck