John Chisum was from Paris, Texas and started his first cattle herd there. He drove cattle from Paris to Trickham, Texas to intercept the Texas Trail to Kansas. He later moved his ranching operations to the area 20 miles west of Trickham, Texas and 10 miles northeast of Paint Rock Texas near the confluence of the Colorado River and the Concho River. The Loving-Goodnight Trail, also known as the Western Trail, branched west fron the Texas Trail at Trickham, Texas and went through Chisum's ranch near Paint Rock and on to Pecos Crossing and then north through Roswell, New Mexico, Colorado to Cheyenne Wyoming. He moved again to Roswell New Mexico in the late 1870s. John Chisum died of cancer December 22, 1886 and was buried on Christmas Day in the Chisum family plot in Paris, Texas. Jerry Coffee -----Original Message----- From: Coffee <j.coff@verizon.net> To: Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com <Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Monday, May 21, 2001 7:52 AM Subject: Re: [SouthernTrails] Chisum Trail > These cattle trails in Texas must have been called various names at >various times and apparently the State Historical Society does not monitor >their roadside markers. According to a roadside marker, The Shawnee Trail >ran north from the Austin, Texas area through Dallas to Coffee's Trading >Post on the Red River and on through Oklahoma to Dodge City Kansas. There is >a roadside marker in Frisco,Texas on Hwy. 289 (Preston Road), just north of >SH-121 that indicates the route of the Shawnee Trail. The Chisholm Trail ran >through Comanche County according to the roadside marker on Hwy-67 just west >of Comanche, Texas. Most historians agree that the Chisholm Trail only ran >through Oklahoma starting at Doans Crossing. Doan's Crossing is located on >the Red River north of Vernon, Texas. According to some historians, The >Texas Trail started in south Texas and ran north through what is now >Gillispie, Kimball, San Saba, Coleman, Callahan, Shackleford (Ft. >Griffin), Throckmorton, Baylor Counties and connecting to the so called >Chisholm Trail at Doans Crossing in Wilbarger County. > > In 1870, The Western Trail started at the Texas Trail at Thrickham, >Texas in Coleman County and went due west through John Chisum's Texas >ranching operations east of Paint Rock, Texas to San Angelo and on to >Pecos, Texas. The roadside marker on US-83, north of Paint Rock, Texas >indicates the ranching area of John Chisum before he moved to New Mexico >and was involved with Billy The Kid and the Lincoln County War. I don't >recall how he was involved in the Lincoln County War. Billy The Kid worked >for him at some point in time. I don't think Chisum was to involved in the >war. > > At Pecos, the Western Trail turned north through New Mexico to >Colorado. The small community of Trickham, Texas was a supply point for the >drovers that were starting to Chisum's ranch on the Western Trail. The town >got it's name from a store keeper named Cheatham. He watered down his >whiskey and sold it to the cowboys. He was the first person in the world to >put flour in cotton sacks rather than in barrels, in order to increase his >profits of the sale of flour to the drovers and make it easier to carry >flour on the chuck wagons. Keys Crossing on the Colorado River was the >westernmost dry weather cattle crossing of the Colorado River in 1870. It >is located just southeast of Trickham near Indian Creek, Texas. Many >outlaws and gun fighters hid out in the area around Keys Crossing, waiting >for the cattle drives to come through. They would join the drovers and offer >their guns in the range wars in the counties that the drive would pass >through to the north. The land along Western Trail was not opened to farmers >in the 1870s. > >In the 1870s the fence cutting range wars were common between the drovers >and the farmers as they fenced the land in the counties along the Texas >Trail. A Texas Ranger captain named Ira Aten joined the cattle drives near >Keys Crossing as a undercover officer to find out who the gunmen were and >make arrests later after the gun battles. One of the largest gun battles was >northwest of Brownwood, Texas near the Brown-Coleman County line. A >gun-hand named Harlow was the leader of the drover's gunfighters. He was >arrested by ranger Ira Aten. > >Jerry Coffee > > >-----Original Message-----a.om: Barbara Vaillancourt <Valcourt@dfn.com> >To: Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com <Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com> >Date: Sunday, May 20, 2001 10:52 PM >Subject: Re: [SouthernTrails] Chisum Trail > > >>Charles, There is a Chisum trail that run or ran through Roswell, New >>Mexico. The City just put up a big statue of John Chisum. Barbara >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: Charles A. Wyly <wyly1@juno.com> >>To: <Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com> >>Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2001 10:21 PM >>Subject: Re: [SouthernTrails] Chisum Trail >> >> >>> Hi, Jim >>> >>> I think the info below is in Southern Trails or Txerath-L archives. >>> >>> I have found 4 jesse- John Chisolms- chisums. . One in an older >>> generation was a John Chisolm, an U.S. Army officer from Tennessee.I want >>> to find more on him, but he had a distinguished record. i do not know the >>> connections- if any in Anglo or Indian ancestors. >>> >>> 1. Jesse or John Chisum of Broken bow, Oklahoma and there is a historic >>> marker for him near Broken Bow saying he was a farmer- rancher who drove >>> his and some neighbors cattle across Missouri to Illinois- the Chicago >>> market and an early railhead- before Refrigeration but not much. This >>> one is buried in Oklahoma. His mother was Cherokee. >>> >>> 2. Jesse Chisolm-- half Choctaw laid out the Chisolm Trail- one source >>> said from Red River north. Another said from Yukon, Okla. to his Kansas >>> store. He ox carted freight from Oklahoma City area to his store south of >>> Abilene, kansas, centrally located as each new rail head opened. He also >>> ox carted food and supplies to Indian Reservations to the north and West. >>> There is no record of him driving any cows but his milk cow at his Store. >>> >>> >>> The Texas Trail, sometimes called the Chisolm Trail through Waco was >>> planned by an enterprising man who was planning the trail at one end and >>> working with the Railroads to have a certain number of Catle to Abilene, >>> Kansas by a given date. It should be the McCoy or Texas Trail. Texas >>> Trail was on older maps- but I think evidence points to two trails >>> through Waco- one from South Texas to the Oklahoma Chisolm Freight trail >>> and one from East Texas across the low water crossing at Rock Creek near >>> Gholson, then west to the Concho Valleythrough Bosque or Erath County >>> with stocker cattle driven by #3 to dip and fatten before hitting the >>> Goodnight - Loving Trail to Colorado and Wyoming pastures, Indians and >>> Army posts. >>> >>> #3- John Chisum half Indian of Denton County and later the Concho >>> Valleypast San Angelo. Now, this man is NOT the same man as the John or >>> jesse Chisum of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, >>> This man drove cattle from Denton County up the Oklahoma Chisolm Trail, >>> confusing a lot of cowboys and secondary source writers . He also drove >>> them across the High Plains to the Rio Grande then north during a wet >>> spring or down the Goodnight- Loving Trail to Pecos then across to the >>> Rio Grand and up to Colorado. These routes would allow cattle to fatten >>> on the way, compared to East Texas piney woods. >>> >>> Some in Keller- Southlake- Saginaw area say an Indian or mixed woman >>> cooked for this Chisum's chuck wagon and he left her and 2 sons Denton- >>> Tarrant county acerage. They ran stores there until they died. Other >>> reports say one branch of Goodnight- Loving Trail from Parker- Tarrant >>> County down the Goodnight- Loving Trail. When the train came to Colorado >>> City, trail drives ended there- Upper end of the Concho valley. .I talked >>> to an 80 year old man in Meridian, Texas about 20 years ago who said he >>> drove cattle with John Chisum of San Angel as a teenager. Does that >>> time fit? Some of this trail crossed Erath County at one timefrom >>> Weatherford,,Texas. and it makes sense they would have driven East Texas >>> cattle from Waco across Bosque County through Cranfils Gap to Lampassas. >>> then Concho pastures, depending on rain and new fences. >>> >>> Would have driven cattle from Waco up the rough country to Ranger- Strawn >>> area, or would have driven them on thw west side of the Brazos and cut >>> across Erath County up to the Brazos via the Bosque River- the latter is >>> several miles shorter and easier travelling. Kuykendall land and Cattle >>> of Clifton drove cattle on these trails and later used Diesels to carry >>> East Texas cattle to Wyoming summer pastures , especially during a dry >>> year in Central Texas. >>> >>> #3 was the one that Lonesome Dove Movie was copied after, not the Jesse >>> Chisolm or the one from Broken Bow. Both #1 and #3 did work the Red River >>> Valley drives at about the same time. Try telling all this to a Waco >>> Chamber of Commerce worker- I did and don't confuse them with truth. >>> >>> Take care, Charles A. Wyly >>> >>> J. Frank Dobie and Walter Prescott Webb list all the above Chisums- >>> Chisolms. Some books in Waco school libraries combine legends from >>> secondary sources into 2- sometimes 1 man. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Sat, 19 May 2001 11:41:21 -0500 Jim <coach@Hillsboro.net> writes: >>> > My Great Grandfather, Andrew Jackson Davis, passed along many tales >>> > of >>> > his days herding cattle north out of Texas on the old Chisum Trail. >>> > "Jack" and his brother, George Washington Davis, were first rate >>> > working >>> > cowboys who made many trips driving cows up the Chisum to markets >>> > further north. They lived in Navarro Co, Texas and later George >>> > moved >>> > with his family to the area around Tolar, Texas. There were many >>> > obstacles to face along the trail in those days, including Indians. >>> > Jack >>> > Davis said that one night, while camped out in Indian territory, he >>> > "rubbed chewing tobacco in his eyes" so he would not fall asleep >>> > while >>> > guarding the cattle. Another time he found a man hanging from a >>> > tree. He >>> > rode into the nearest town and went into the saloon to ask for the >>> > sheriff, to report that "there is a man hanging outside town". Three >>> > men >>> > inside slowly turned and stared at him but said nothing. Jack >>> > immediately figured that the hanging was none of his business and >>> > slowly >>> > backed out the door, got on his horse, and rode back to the safety >>> > of >>> > his friends at their camp. >>> > He was also the "veterinarian" who was called on by any neighbors >>> > who >>> > had animals in need of medical attention. If a cow was "bloated" >>> > from >>> > eating too much clover, Jack knew just where to insert the knife to >>> > "let >>> > the air out". >>> > When he got old he continued to wear his white hat and white >>> > handlebar mustache. >>> > Jim >>> > >>> > >>> > ============================== >>> > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the >>> > #1 >>> > Source for Family History Online. Go to: >>> > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB >>> > >>> >>> >>> ============================== >>> Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 >>> Source for Family History Online. Go to: >>> http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB >>> >>> >> >> >>============================== >>Shop Ancestry - Everything you need to Discover, Preserve & Celebrate >>your heritage! >>http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog >> >