The Legacy of Cattle Baron John Chisum
John Chisum grew up in Paris, Texas, and became a famous cattle driver moving longhorns from Texas to New Mexico. During those years, he provided a home in Bonham, Texas, and financial support for his common-law wife, Jensie, a bi-racial former slave, and their two daughters Harriet and Almeady. Because of the pressures of racism of the time, Chisum never publicly recognized his wife and children and they were not mentioned in his obituary.
Chisum was involved with the famous New Mexico Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid, and many other notable people and events. His life is featured in film with John Wayne playing him in Chisum in 1970. When Chisum’s granddaughter Eugie Thomas saw the movie that year, she helped author Russ Brown write a book telling her side of the story. Her mother was Almeady, Chisum and Jensie’s youngest daughter. Eugie’s father, Bob Jones, was a successful rancher for whom Southlake, Texas’ largest park, a road, and the city’s nature center is named. Their legacy is also very layered.
Interestingly, at some point, John Chisum was memorialized with a bronze star on the sidewalk of the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. In October 2023, Bob and Almeady Chisum Jones were also memorialized there, decades later, not far from her father’s star.
Read more in this County Line article and throughout the archives. |
