Eddie Dale tells of his Swiss and German ancestors emigrating to America, meeting and marrying in New Jersey. His grandfather worked for railroads, then eventually moved west. Rudy Blumer, Eddie Dale's father, was born in Globe, AZ and likewise Eddie Dale. This narrative is a great series of colorful and mostly humorous stories about early homesteaders, ranchers and the US Forest Service personnel living in and between Globe and Young, Arizona.
↧
Blumer Family History
↧
Chapman Family History
Frank Chapman tells of his mother's LDS ancestors, the Crismons, migrating to Arizona from Salt Lake City, UT. She met and married Frank's father and the family moved to Pleasant Valley where they purchased one of the Tewksbury ranches and settled. Frank now lives on John Rose's ranch, and operates the Tewksbury Museum. He tells the history of the feud between the Grahams and Tewksburys that flamed into the Pleasant Valley War in the late 1800s. He talks about his roots in Mormonism, his involvement as a Mason, and of the U.S. Forest Service.
↧
↧
Cooper Family History
Dwight's great grandfather first settled in the Roosevelt area, the original ranch, the Hay Hook Ranch, was just 3 miles from where the dam was built in 1911. He tells of early ranching practices and of how ranchers related to each other. His father raised cattle, but his love was horse racing and playing a fiddle. Dwight was born in 1941, went to grade school with the dam workers' children in Roosevelt and to high school in Globe. While still a boy, his father's health declined, and he went to work running the family ranch. He has lived his whole life on this ranch and so can recall events unique to the Roosevelt Dam residents for the past 60 years. He tells how the cattle industry has declined over the years, accrediting it to Forest Service management. He relates the bittersweet last round up, the struggle to survive as cattlegrowers, and why it would now be difficult to reintroduce cattle due to the unique browse. Dwight talks of his contribution of building an irrigation system for cattle and wildlife and other interests in land stewardship.
↧
Haught Family History, Part 1
Austin tells of his uncle Fred, his father, Samuel Ache Haught, and grandfather coming from Texas to Tonto Basin in the mid-1880s, bringing two large herds of cattle with them. They settled in Rye originally, then later moved to Walnut Creek in Pleasant Valley. Austin tells of growing up on the ranch and of neighboring ranchers who influenced his life. Austin worked in the cattle industry all his life, directly or indirectly, first around Gila County and then throughout Arizona. He worked as a foreman for big ranchers, then became a realtor. He now sells ranches to investors. This is a humorous narrative depicting the colorful lore of the local culture.
↧
Haught Family History, Part 2
Linda Haught Ortega tells more of the Haught family migrating from Texas to Arizona in the mid-1880s through the eyes of woman and a historical researcher. Linda's father Alfred was the oldest of Samuel A. and Carrie Haught's children and she remembers living on their Walnut Creek ranch when she was young. She describes the independent subsistence lifestyle of early homesteaders in remote Pleasant Valley. Linda also tells of growing up on her father's Cherry Creek Ranch and her role in cattle ranching. Linda married Dutch Ortega and served as the Gila County Recorder for many years.
↧
↧
Mann Family History
Tom first tells of his mother's Zacharie family coming from Denmark to America, working their way west to Gila County, Arizona in the cattle business. Tom's grandfather, young Fred Zacharie, came from New Mexico to the Pleasant Valley area in pursuit of stolen horses. He abandoned the search and got a job working on a ranch. He went back to Virginia, married and brought his bride back to Pleasant Valley. Rufus Grantham came to Texas from Georgia after the Civil War, married and then brought his large family to Tonto Basin. Rufus met Ed Mann, Tom's grandfather in Globe. His family had come from Texas with a trainload of horses for remount horses for the US Army at San Carlos Reservation. Ed married Mamie Grantham and their son Marion, married Marie Zacharie. Tom recalls growing up on the old Ellenwood Ranch immersed in the customs of these early ranchers, of being home schooled, then thrust into the big city of Globe when it was time to go to high school. He met and married Rena and raised a family working for the County Highway Dept., always yearning to return to the ranch. When his parents moved to Texas to ranch, Tom and his brother joined them, but needed to supplement their living working for the County in Texas. Now he is retired and back, living again in Pleasant Valley, Young, AZ.
↧
Mounce Family History
The Mounce family came to Globe in 1876 with an enormous herd of cattle. The original ranch ran cattle from the Salt River to the Gila River. Another Mounce family ranch was located in Geronimo, AZ. The family's ranching lifestyle continues today, now skirting the San Carlos Indian Reservation east of Globe on Hwy 60. Joe and Christie's father, "Buster" Mounce, owned and operated the stockyards next to the railroad in Globe, holding cattle from the ranches for shipping. He was also the Gila County cattle inspector. And as a cattle broker he procured bulls for ranchers and auctioned cattle at sales. Buster Mounce was instrumental in starting and participating in early Gila County rodeos. He also helped start the local 4H Club, building stall type corrals and donating land for community use. He established Gila County Bred and Fed program to encourage raising quality steers locally. Joe and his sister continue the ranching tradition.
↧
Peace Family History
Seven generations ago, Jayne's great-great grandparents Cornelius and Parmelia Jackson and her great grandparents, Texas Ranger Will and Ellen Jackson Neal, and her father Neely Jackson and family left Texas in the late 1880s looking for good cattle country and a fresh start in a hurry. They ran into a range war in New Mexico, were forced to stay thre a couple years, and in so doing, lost most of their cattle. They stopped in Globe and after they recuperating their losses by rustling horses and cattle, they moved on to settle in the little Mormon settlement of Gisela in the Tonto Basin. Tonto Basin was still a remote and lawless wilderness requiring settlers to raise their food and improvise anything they required, but the friendly Apaches living in the area were willing to trade with them. Jayne's grandmother was so content to live there she didn't leave for 30 years. Jayne's grandfather Hale and his brother came into the area as geological surveyors. They met two of the Neal sisters, married them and settled down. The Peace family left a horse ranch on the Texas-Mexican border to come to Arizona. Al Griffin, Jayne's grandmother Peace's father, was also a Texas Ranger. He moved to Pleasant Valley and worked as a constable, a cattle inspector and ranched on Cherry Creek. Jayne's father, Calvin Peace was born in Young. He met Anna Mae Hale at one of the Young dances. They married and bought the old Sam and Isabella Haught ranch (Papa Sam's parents) in Gisela. They kept cattle and he worked for the sawmill etc. They later sold out and moved into Payson, where he started an excavation business for new homes. Jayne now lives in Payson and is married to Jinx Pyle. She is the editor for the Payson Roundup, writes historical books and publishes books for Gitarope Publishing with Jinx.
↧
Pyle Family History, Part 1
David Harer drove a herd of hogs into Greenback Valley in 1874 and set up a hog ranch, thus earning the credit of being the first white man to build a house in the Tonto Basin. He and his son-in-law, Florence Packard raised hogs for market in Globe, but they also subsistence farmed. The family was not molested by the Indians because David Harer was considered supernatural. He wore a live rattlesnake around his neck. David and Josephine Bean Harer had 7 daughters. Florence Packard's and Sara Harer were Jinx' great great grandparents. Packard brought in cattle, and hunted lion with fox terriers to supplement their income. He also did some mining. Their daughter Josie was Jinx' great grandmother. She married Frederick "Tough" Russell, the deputy assigned to the construction of the Roosevelt Dam. Their daughter Belle married Walter Lovelady. And then their daughter married Eugene Pyle, and Jinx was born. Jinx sat around many a campfire, listening to the old timers telling colorful stories and personal histories of his ancestors and of early settlers in the Rim Country, Pleasant Valley and the Tonto Basin. And Jinx is a great storyteller.
↧
↧
Pyle Family History, Part 2
Jinx continues family history and neighbor storytelling, now from his own experiences beginning with living off the land and growing up on Bonita Creek. Jinx was initiated as a cowboy and lion hunter while still a young boy, when the family moved on the R Bar C Ranch at the foot of Christopher Mountain. Jinx is a great historian who heard stories about the Pleasant Valley War all of his life. He has now followed up on these stories and researched extensively enough to write a book on the Pleasant Valley War. He tells us the story here as only someone from the "inside" could tell it.
↧
Reece Family History
Duane Reece is a cattleman, and also a gifted cowboy poet. He begins with a poem skillfully describing his life as a young cowhand. Duane grew up in the Great Depression on ranches along the Gila River that bordered the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Southern Gila County. Both of his grandparents came to Arizona in the 1910s, his mother's parents from Texas and his father's from Montana. They settled in Arivaipa Canyon on adjoining ranches. His father filed a homestead and they were married circa 1934. To subsidize their ranch, Duane's father captured wild horses, broke and sold them. Her mother trapped fur animals during the winter for sale. Duane and his sisters grew up with their father caretaking 3 ranches. The proximity of the Gila River and the Reservation caused problems unique to most Arizona ranchers. Before the Coolige Dam was built, the river often flooded their home. Then in 1968, the US Government ordered the ranchers to remove themselves and their cattle from the Mineral Strip on the Reservation. It took years for people to be reimbursed for their deeded lands and improvements. Also, this area differs from other ranches because the Forest Service isn't so restrictive. This area is very rough country, adequate for cattle, but many ranches also ran Angora goats because where the price of cattle fluxuated, the goat market was stable. At one time, Duane reports there were over 10,000 head of goats running in the area. Everyone had hogs, not for sale, but for personal use. He says hog meat is what won the West, not beef. Without electricity, hog meat can be smoked and/or stored better than beef. Duane reports the presence of lions, javalinas, elk, and other wildlife in this area south of the Pinal Mountains. Duane returns to describe his father as a class athlete with an unerring instinct for a cow or a horse, so he had a reputation for being one of the best cowboys in the country. Living so remote, it wasn't until around 1940 before he got to his first rodeo, but then found that working the rodeos as a roper he was able to win enough to keep the ranch. Duane grew up knowing he was going to work a ranch. At the time he was two weeks old he had his own brand and his two grandfathers and a neighbor bought him four calves. He drew his first wage of $1 a day at age 4, dragging posts from the saddlehorn of his horse along a fence line. Duane predicts the ranching lifestyle is just about over now. Most of Gila County is prime ranch land, but many ranches now are owned not for the use of the land but for the idea, the romance of owning a ranch. Duane followed his father's footsteps into rodeoing and was very successful at it until he met and married. His wife, Helen, was Justice of the Peace for 6 terms, or 24 years, before she retired. Duane was also a State Livestock Inspector for many years.
↧
Seeley Family History, Part 1
John's father came to the Rim Country in 1914, working as a cowhand for the OW Ranch. He went to France during WWI. He was a partner on the 3E Ranch when he met Emma Joy Mingus. They married in 1925 and bought the land adjoining John's present home and the sheep trail. During the Great Depression he had to go to Globe to work in the mines. The underground dust aggravated his lungs already damaged in WWI, so he died in 1934. Emma Seeley continued to raise her two sons in Young. John tells of his WWII experience as a cargo ship gunner in the South Pacific and around the world.
↧
Seeley Family History, Part 2
In this second part of John Seeley's interview, his expertise as a History teacher and researcher is evident as he covers the history of Pleasant Valley, its residents and ranches. He describes in detail the events of the Pleasant Valley War, otherwise known as the Graham-Tewksbury feud, which was the largest and longest feud in American history.
↧
↧
Tucker Family History
Leroy tells his mother's grandparents, David and Josephine Bean Harer, the first white family to settle in Greenback Valley and the Tonto Basin in the mid 1870s. His mother was a Conroy. His father, Gabriel Kendrick Tucker, came to Globe with his parents circa 1900s. He first worked as miner, then as a cowhand at various ranches. Leroy's parents met and married, first worked in a silver mining camp, and then worked for the A Cross. They bought their first ranch in Greenback Valley, the J Slash X, and this is where Leroy was born. Leroy recalls his childhood growing up on a ranch and describes the ranching lifestyle unique to the Roosevelt Lake area of Gila County. Velma also grew up in the Roosevelt Lake basin, but they began their courtship at a rodeo in Snowflake where he had entered as a roper. After they married they ranched and he continued his career in rodeo roping to supplement their income. Leroy owned several ranches, one even in California. But Arizona being their home, they returned and bought back their ranch. Leroy has been an active leader in the Gila County Cattle Growers Association for many years. He is proud of his efforts on the Five Slash in cross breeding Brahma bulls with Hereford cows, called F1s. He tells of owning the Bar Eleven Ranch, and of buying and selling "Starvation" or Gleeson Flats, and other such real estate. Leroy remains active on his ranch, in cattle management and in stewardship of the land.
↧
Bohme Family History
Eula Belle tells of her husband's grandmother Laura Neal and son Lewis William Bohme, emigrating from Texas after divorcing her husband. She settled in Gila County near other Neals and raised goats on a mining claim in Webster Gulch, in the mountains hidden behind the copper mines of Miami. Laura Neal went through several husbands, one of them being Finn Clanton, in these tough times. She raised her son in a tent house and a stockade house that failed to ward off arsonists. After Laura Neal raised her son, she then raised her two grandsons. Eula Belle came West to care for her brother's children and met Bill, one of these grandsons. After they were married, Bill's brother's wife died, and so Eula Belle subsequently helped raise his children as well. Eula Belle's husband Bill was a Gila County Supervisor and his brother, Fay, managed the ranch for him. Eula Belle describes the family as a partnership that she still enjoys with these now grown children. She lived on a ranch until just recently when the mines bought her out.
↧
Bacon Family History
Pete Bacon, Ed's great grandfather, moved his family to the Roosevelt Lake Basin in the 1880s from parts unknown in search of the opportunity to grow cattle and for the mines. Each subsequent generation adapted as ranchers in the mining/ranching culture. Among their challenges were being moved when the lake flooded their land, and a long-term feud with a neighboring rancher. Ed eventually learned the skill of saddlemaking and moved to Globe. His son Earl has partnered with him, operating Bacon's Boots and Saddles, achieving the distinction of being one of the longest continuously run businesses in Gila County's history.
↧
Bryne Family History
Bill and Dot remember their families' histories of migrating to Arizona before the days of Statehood. Dot's family eventually came to Claypool and retailed lumber. Bill's family came from Texas during the Great Depression and ranched. He tells of growing up riding horses over Pioneer Pass, over the Pinal Mountains to Dripping Springs and spending his weekends with Lynn Sheppard on his ranch. Dot was in the eighth grade and Bill was in the tenth when they met. Bill went in the Army just as WWII was getting over and when he returned they lived on the Pinals, fighting fires for the Forest Service the first two years they were married. Later, Bill worked on a ranch for a time, then went to the State, working at the Flying V briefly. He then went to work for the Webb ranch near the infamous Top of the World. The Webbs loaned Bill out to Leroy Tucker when his father died, and then they went to the A Cross Ranch, and the Bar Eleven Ranch. Dot first home schooled her son, but then moved into Globe during the school year. Bill finally moved into Globe in 1959 where he worked for Gila County for the next 15 years. They bought property in Wheatfields and built a trailer park. At that time and for the next 20 years Bill, Dot and their sons raised, trained and raced horses.
↧
↧
Ellison Family History
Following the Civil War, Colonel Jess Ellison moved to Texas. Feeling crowded there, he then drove a huge herd of cattle to the open spaces of the Tonto Basin and Rim Country of Arizona in the mid 1880s. He later established the enormous "Q" Ranch, bordering the White Mountain Indian Reservation from the top of the rim to the Salt River. His daughter Duett married George W. P. Hunt, the future first Governor of Arizona. Nathan and Lynna open up their photo album and memoirs of the Ellison family describing ranch life, relations with other ranchers and miners in the area, the Apaches and Indian agents, and land management in the early days. They discuss the Ellison verson of the Pleasant Valley War and how they participated as neutrals. Nathan's grandfather forsook the ranch in pursuit of prospecting, and they discuss uranium mining in the area. Nathan has devoted his life to hunting professionally as a wild game guide and as a lion hunter, has killed approx. 400 lions. They also discuss the U.S. Forest Service, droughts, and other detriments to ranching. Six generations later, Nathan is proud of his grandson for being entered in Archery in the Olympics in China.
↧
Haught Family History, Part 4
Joe Haught continues telling his personal story from the time he graduated from high school and punched cows for his father. He candidly tells of his escapades as a wild young cowboy and of working for ranches around Arizona. Joe still works ranches, and in fact, is now working his grandfather's ranch with dreams that someday it will be owned by a Haught again. Joe is all Arizona cowboy, and so teaches us from his perspective about rodeo, the Code of the West, and cowboy terminology.
↧
Haught Family History, Part 3
Joe Haught tells his family history, starting with his great-great uncle Fred Haught coming to Arizona and then calling the Haught family out to the Tonto Basin. Joe's great grandfather and grandfather Sam Ache Haught and family came to Tonto Basin with two large herds of cattle. They settled in Rye. Besides ranching, Samuel Ache Haught was a Territorial Legislator. He and his wife Dagmar divorced and later, Sam met and married Carrie Hunnicutt Martin, the sister of his cousin Babe's wife. They moved with her young children to Walnut Creek outside of Pleasant Valley and established another ranch. Joe defines the ranch management, the cattle, the culture and lifestyle unique to the local area. He also tells stories about his mother's father, a hillbilly moonshiner, coming to Arizona, of his parents meeting and of his early childhood to high school graduation.
↧