North Dakota Cowboy

Cool.

Very cool story Wayne. I did a little search and it seems the Spanish were the original cowboys. From wiki:

The English word cowboy has an origin from several earlier terms that referred to both age and to cattle or cattle-tending work.

The word "cowboy" appeared in the English language by 1725.[3] It appears to be a direct English translation of vaquero, a Spanish word for an individual who managed cattle while mounted on horseback. It was derived from vaca, meaning "cow."[4] This Spanish word has a long history, developed from the Latin word vacca. Another English word for a cowboy, buckaroo, is an Anglicization of vaquero.[5] At least one linguist has speculated that the word "buckaroo" derives from the Arabic word bakara or bakhara, also meaning "heifer" or "young cow", and may have entered Spanish during the centuries of Islamic rule.[6]

The Spanish originated what we now consider the cowboy tradition, beginning with the hacienda system of medieval Spain. This style of cattle ranching spread throughout much of the Iberian peninsula and later, was imported to the Americas. Both regions possessed a dry climate with sparse grass, and thus large herds of cattle required vast amounts of land in order to obtain sufficient forage. The need to cover distances greater than a person on foot could manage gave rise to the development of the horseback-mounted vaquero.

Congrats to Great Grampa Georgie Baye!

Hello,

Tops I think in the old days we called fellars like you bookworms, don't know about now days with all this fancy machinery. You sure can dig up some info.

Hello Flatpicker,

     I have been workin on "Desperado's Waiting For A Train" by Guy Clark  and I'm gonna do a video with the pics I have of
'"Perfecto" . I have a nice pic of him playing guitar in a rockin chair when he was gettin old.
     He was raising my father when he died so , my dad had alot of stories, just wish he was around to share some.

wlbaye,

Perfecto is my great-great grandfather. I tried emailing you a while back. My Great Grandfather was his son George Baye. It would be great to get into contact with you to share any info as i am researching this side of the family. You can contact me at donniezorn@gmail.com

Great story Wayne.  I stopped and spent a day in Medora a couple years ago.  Had to be some tough hombres to make a living there back when your great grandfather was around.  It'll probably be pretty cold up there this weekend I'm guessing. 

My youngest daughter and I spent some time searching my family history this year.  I could only trace back to my great-grandfather on my dad's side.  He was born in 1828 and died in 1865 in the Civil war, leaving my great-grandmother with 5 kids and pregnant with my grandfather.  The search did inspire me to write several songs about the history and area of eastern KY where three generations of my family lived.  I'm looking forward to seeing your video when it's done. Be sure to post it for us.

DE

Hi Wayne! He was my Great Great Grandfather. He was my fathers great grandfather. Does that make you my fathers cousin?

Jshaw it is real cool to read your post and how you and Wlbaye are related through your interesting family history.

PHILL

don't you know American cowboys are slow - they are on horseback ! 

It would truly be a great story if they found our they are related however.

quite interesting read at least

Glad it was shared

JIm

Mojo's great ,great grand father Elder William Brittain was the preacher in  this event.
Elder William Brittain, a Baptist preacher and cotton buyer, arrived in 1837 to found, in his home,  the first Baptist church in Texas, along with a cemetery. A school followed in 1838
A tragic, unthinkable incident in the spring of 1847, frequently associated with the Regulator-Moderator War, remains after 157 years one of East Texas’ worst mass murders.

In the isolated settlement of East Hamilton in Shelby Country, many of those who ate a cake while attending a wedding supper came down with a sudden illness and over a period of days as many as forty individuals may have died.

The wedding supper, a common event in small communities of the l840s, was to honour a young couple following their marriage ceremony.

In May of 1847, the Texas Telegraph and Register of Houston, reported: “We learn from San Augustine...that seventy or eighty persons who attended a wedding...on the evening of the 22nd (of April), were taken ill immediately...and eight or ten died, evidently from the effects of poison.”

On May 23, 1847, a letter written in Bayou Sara, Louisiana to a friend contained the particulars of the incident. The culprit was allegedly a man known as Wilkinson, “a man of bad character and a notorious hog thief,” Wilkinson was apparently accused of stealing the hogs of Spot Sanders, whose daughter was to marry a man named Morris.

The 1847 letter said that “old Wilkinson and his wife, and Morris’ wife, were arrested and examined before Squire Sanders, who committed them to prison.” Wilkinson was brought before a magistrate and released. “He was afraid to leave the house during the day, as there were persons determined on killing him,” said the l847 letter.

During the night Wilkinson supposedly escaped on a horse brought to him by Morris. Eight men rode off in pursuit of him with intentions to kill him on sight. In an account printed in the Telegraph and Register in May, 1847, Wilkinson was captured and hung.

“It is said that he confessed and had given the arsenic to the cook purposely to be mixed in the cake, and that he cautioned the bride and other members of the family not to eat the cake,” said the newspaper.
Elder William Brittain, who  officiated at the wedding, entered the names of several members of his own family on the deaths page in his family Bible.

That is an amazing story, wow mojo and ditto to what Tig said, must be a song in that family history   Thanks Peatle for finding the info

Laugh Lots ... Forgive Much ...  Love one another     
Covers and some Originals found over there    ------- >    https://soundcloud.com/ukulelejan

Mojo you have an interesting family history to base your songs on. I like the lyrics to the first verse iin that  song You Will Never Leave Harlan Alive .

In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone
"You will never leave Harlan alive"

Mojo's great ,great grand uncle often referred to as the "Father of Harlan County," General  George Brittain was born about 1768 in Wythe County, Virginia. By 1800, he had moved from Virginia to the part of Kentucky that was to become Harlan County.
He reputedly built a race track and kept a fine string of race horses. Brittain served as a colonel in the War of 1812 and was active in early civic affairs in what was then Knox County. He served that County in the Kentucky State Legislature from 1813 to 1814 and was instrumental in the establishment of Harlan County in 1819. He was also active in the local Home Guard, or Militia as it was often referred to, and that is probably where he acquired the title of General George Brittain.
Brittain continued his civic activities after the formation of the County and acted as the first County and circuit court clerk. Most of the official County records of the 1820's were written or recorded by him and his signature is on the 1820 census and tax records.
Harlan County was named after Major Silas Harlan, a Virginian who came to Kentucky in 1774 and took part in many battles fought with the Indians. The Major was killed in the Battle of Blue Licks fought near Maysville, Kentucky.