Cornelia Adair
Encyclopedia
Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair (April 6, 1837 – September 22, 1921) was the matriarch of Glenveagh Castle
in County Donegal
, Ireland
, now an Irish national park
, and the large JA Ranch
southeast of Amarillo
in the Texas Panhandle
, a still active cattle
ranch
. She is also remembered for having become a naturalized
British subject
and as a published diarist.
James Samuel Wadsworth, Sr.
(1807–1864), and the former Mary Craig Wharton (1811–1872). Though she was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, the Wadsworth family lived at the Hartford House estate in the village
of Geneseo
, the seat of Livingston County
in western New York
.
In 1855, the Wadsworths traveled to England
and France
on a two-year sojourn. On their return, Cornelia married Montgomery Harrison Ritchie of Boston, a descendant of Federalist Party leader Harrison Gray Otis
(1765–1848). The Ritchies had two sons, Arthur (who died in childhood) and Montgomery Harrison “Jack” Ritchie (1861–1924), who outlived his mother by only three years.
The senior Montgomery Ritchie fought in North Carolina
in 1862 in the American Civil War
under General Ambrose E. Burnside. In 1864, he entered a battlefield to retrieve his father-in-law, General Wadsworth, who was mortally wounded in the head in the Battle of the Wilderness
in Virginia
. Ritchie brought Wadsworth's body to Geneseo for burial. Not long afterwards, Ritchie himself died of an illness contracted in battle and was buried in Geneseo.
, France
. On returning to the United States, she attended a Republican
political reception in New York. The Ritchie family was staunchly Republican from 1854, when the party was established. At the gathering, she first met John George Adair
, a Scottish
-Irish
businessman and landowner from County Donegal. The two married in 1869 and lived in Ireland, in Great Britain
, and in New York City
, where Adair, also known as “Jack Adair”, opened a brokerage house.
Adair disliked living in New York City and desired to see the American West. For a time he established his brokerage firm in Denver
, Colorado
. In 1874, the Adairs joined a buffalo
hunt along the South Platte River
in Nebraska
and northeastern Colorado. Cornelia's brother had served as an aide to General Philip H. Sheridan, and, according to Nancy Baker Jones in The Handbook of Texas, Cornelia may have used Sheridan's influence to obtain a military escort under Colonel
Richard Irving Dodge
to accompany the party, which departed from Sidney
, the seat of Cheyenne County
in western Nebraska. Cornelia kept a diary (published 1918) of the two-month journey, which included details of a meeting near the South Platte of cavalry
officers and Oglala Sioux.
cattleman Charles Goodnight
, who told them about the Palo Duro Canyon
country where cattle could graze in abundance in summers, with adequate grass and water, and then winter under the protection of the canyon walls. Goodnight drove the first herd of cattle to the Palo Duro, part of a larger landscape known as the Llano Estacado
, or “Staked Plains” of the Texas Panhandle. The most prominent feature of the JA is the canyon on the southwest. In the center of the ranch is a large plain. To the east are the rolling hills of Mulberry and Halls Creek. To the north is the Caprock
.
In their contract, John Adair put up two-thirds of the capital to establish the ranch, and Goodnight was able to borrow his one-third at 10 percent interest from Adair as well as supply the initial cattle. The Adairs rarely stayed at the ranch, because of their other properties in England and Ireland. The ranch still bears Adair's initials, the JA. Goodnight and Adair signed two five-year contracts. In 1885, Adair died of natural causes while he was in St. Louis, Missouri
. At the time, he was returning with a servant to Ireland. Cornelia, who did not accompany Adair on that trip, had his body returned for burial in the Protestant Church graveyard at Killenard Co. Laois, Ireland.
s.
Sometimes, she questioned Goodnight's judgment in the management of the ranch. For instance, she hired John Edward Farrington as the manager after Goodnight withdrew from their arrangement even though Goodnight had specifically trained Henry Webster Taylor, Goodnight's nephew, as his successor. As the first JA manager, Goodnight had quarreled with Cornelia's son, Jack, whom he claimed to have caught drinking alcohol
and shooting craps with the cowboys in violation of the JA's strict code of ethics. Goodnight demoted Jack Ritchie, who moved to New York City and sold JA horses to the New York Police Department. In 1887, she traded the Quitaque Ranch for Goodnight's one-third interest in the JA, a share that comprised 336000 acres (1,359.7 km²), 48,000 cattle as well as mule
s, horse
s, and rights to the JA brand.
In 1911, while she was in London
, Cornelia came upon her nephew, James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., then a former Speaker
of the New York Assembly. She persuaded Wadsworth to take the vacant position of JA manager. He agreed, but after four years left again in 1915, having been elected in 1914 as a Republican to the United States Senate
from New York, the first class elected under the Seventeenth Amendment
to the United States Constitution
.
One of the JA managers was Timothy Dwight Hobart
(1855–1935), a Vermont
native. His experience was more in real estate than in raising cattle. He had surveyed the five million acres (20,000 km²) of the New York and Texas Land Company in Mobeetie
, one of the first three settlements in the Panhandle. He was affiliated with the White Deer Land Company in Pampa
, the seat of Gray County. He was also a president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
. Cornelia trusted him to be co-executor of her estate, of which there were many outstanding debts, not settled for two decades. Hobart also was elected mayor
of Pampa in 1929.
, the seat of Donley County
, away from the ranch. She contributed generously to various civic projects about the JA Ranch, which by the time of her death covered half a million acres (4,000 km²). She provided funds to build the Adair Hospital, later the Saints' Roost Museum
in Clarendon. She contributed to the first Young Men's Christian Association building and to the Episcopal
Church in Clarendon.
and rhododendron
in her garden. Before he married Cornelia, John Adair had become notorious for having driven poor tenants off the land to improve the aesthetic beauty of Glenveagh. Cornelia though was renowned as a kind landlady and a benefactor. During World War I
, she used the castle to house wounded Belgian
soldiers and refugee
s.
A personal friend of Lord Baden-Powell
, Cornelia donated generously to establish the Scout movement
. She died in England and is interred next to Adair in Killenard churchyard Co. Laois Ireland. In the years after Cornelia's death, Glenveagh fell into disrepair. In 1984, it became an Irish national park.
, son of Jack Rithie. He managed the ranch, along with another spread in Colorado, until his retirement in 1993. The ranch then passed to Montie Ritchie's daughter, Cornelia Wadsworth “Ninia” Ritchie, later the wife of Republican Texas State Senator Teel Bivins
of Amarillo. Ninia's son, Andrew M. Bivins, has since joined the JA management team. Teel Bivins served as U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
during the second administration of U.S. President George W. Bush
.
An American Quarter Horse
was named in 1940 in honor of Cornelia Adair.
Glenveagh Castle
Glenveagh Castle is a large castellated Mansion house built in the Scottish Baronial style within Glenveagh National Park, near both Churchill and Gweedore in County Donegal, Ireland...
in County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, now an Irish national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
, and the large JA Ranch
JA Ranch
The JA Ranch, jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some of...
southeast of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
in the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
, a still active cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
. She is also remembered for having become a naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
British subject
British subject
In British nationality law, the term British subject has at different times had different meanings. The current definition of the term British subject is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981.- Prior to 1949 :...
and as a published diarist.
Early years and first marriage
Cornelia was the second of six children born to a prominent couple, future GeneralGeneral
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
James Samuel Wadsworth, Sr.
James S. Wadsworth
James Samuel Wadsworth was a philanthropist, politician, and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was killed in battle during the Battle of the Wilderness of 1864.-Early years:...
(1807–1864), and the former Mary Craig Wharton (1811–1872). Though she was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the Wadsworth family lived at the Hartford House estate in the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Geneseo
Geneseo, New York
Geneseo is the name of a town and its village in Livingston County in the Finger Lakes region of New York, USA, outside of Rochester, New York. The town's population is approximately 9,600, of which about 7,600 live in the village...
, the seat of Livingston County
Livingston County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 64,328 people, 22,150 households, and 15,349 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 24,023 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
in western New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
In 1855, the Wadsworths traveled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on a two-year sojourn. On their return, Cornelia married Montgomery Harrison Ritchie of Boston, a descendant of Federalist Party leader Harrison Gray Otis
Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer)
Harrison Gray Otis , was a businessman, lawyer, and politician, becoming one of the most important leaders of the United States' first political party, the Federalists...
(1765–1848). The Ritchies had two sons, Arthur (who died in childhood) and Montgomery Harrison “Jack” Ritchie (1861–1924), who outlived his mother by only three years.
The senior Montgomery Ritchie fought in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in 1862 in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
under General Ambrose E. Burnside. In 1864, he entered a battlefield to retrieve his father-in-law, General Wadsworth, who was mortally wounded in the head in the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Ritchie brought Wadsworth's body to Geneseo for burial. Not long afterwards, Ritchie himself died of an illness contracted in battle and was buried in Geneseo.
Marriage to John George Adair
Widowed with her two young sons, Cornelia decided to have the children educated in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. On returning to the United States, she attended a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
political reception in New York. The Ritchie family was staunchly Republican from 1854, when the party was established. At the gathering, she first met John George Adair
John George Adair
John George Adair , sometimes known as Jack Adair, was a Scotch-Irish American businessman and landowner who provided the seed capital for the large JA Ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon of the Texas Panhandle, a region of Texas...
, a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
-Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
businessman and landowner from County Donegal. The two married in 1869 and lived in Ireland, in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where Adair, also known as “Jack Adair”, opened a brokerage house.
Adair disliked living in New York City and desired to see the American West. For a time he established his brokerage firm in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. In 1874, the Adairs joined a buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
hunt along the South Platte River
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and northeastern Colorado. Cornelia's brother had served as an aide to General Philip H. Sheridan, and, according to Nancy Baker Jones in The Handbook of Texas, Cornelia may have used Sheridan's influence to obtain a military escort under Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Richard Irving Dodge
Richard Irving Dodge
Richard Irving Dodge was a colonel in the United States Army.Dodge was born in North Carolina and died after a long and successful career in the U.S. Army. He began as a cadet in 1844 and retired as a Colonel May 19, 1891....
to accompany the party, which departed from Sidney
Sidney, Nebraska
Sidney is a city in Cheyenne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,282 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cheyenne County.-History:The city was named for Sidney Dillon, a railroad attorney...
, the seat of Cheyenne County
Cheyenne County, Nebraska
-History:Cheyenne County was formed in 1871. It was named after the Cheyenne Native American tribe.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, of 2000, there were 9,830 people, 4,071 households, and 2,686 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile . There...
in western Nebraska. Cornelia kept a diary (published 1918) of the two-month journey, which included details of a meeting near the South Platte of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officers and Oglala Sioux.
Partnership with Charles Goodnight
In the summer of 1877, the Adairs partnered with the TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
cattleman Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight, also known as Charlie Goodnight , was a cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas. He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Essayist and historian J...
, who told them about the Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States. As the second largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches a width of at places. Its depth is around...
country where cattle could graze in abundance in summers, with adequate grass and water, and then winter under the protection of the canyon walls. Goodnight drove the first herd of cattle to the Palo Duro, part of a larger landscape known as the Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado , commonly known as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle...
, or “Staked Plains” of the Texas Panhandle. The most prominent feature of the JA is the canyon on the southwest. In the center of the ranch is a large plain. To the east are the rolling hills of Mulberry and Halls Creek. To the north is the Caprock
Caprock
The Caprock is a region in the Panhandle of Texas . It is the land to the west of the Caprock Escarpment, which separates it from plains stretching to the east at a much lower elevation....
.
In their contract, John Adair put up two-thirds of the capital to establish the ranch, and Goodnight was able to borrow his one-third at 10 percent interest from Adair as well as supply the initial cattle. The Adairs rarely stayed at the ranch, because of their other properties in England and Ireland. The ranch still bears Adair's initials, the JA. Goodnight and Adair signed two five-year contracts. In 1885, Adair died of natural causes while he was in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. At the time, he was returning with a servant to Ireland. Cornelia, who did not accompany Adair on that trip, had his body returned for burial in the Protestant Church graveyard at Killenard Co. Laois, Ireland.
Overseeing the JA Ranch
After John Adair's death, despite the distance and difficulty of travel at the time, Cornelia took an active interest in the JA and divided her time between the ranch, the castle in Ireland, and the house in England. She insisted that Goodnight pay high wages and recruit only upstanding cowboyCowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s.
Sometimes, she questioned Goodnight's judgment in the management of the ranch. For instance, she hired John Edward Farrington as the manager after Goodnight withdrew from their arrangement even though Goodnight had specifically trained Henry Webster Taylor, Goodnight's nephew, as his successor. As the first JA manager, Goodnight had quarreled with Cornelia's son, Jack, whom he claimed to have caught drinking alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and shooting craps with the cowboys in violation of the JA's strict code of ethics. Goodnight demoted Jack Ritchie, who moved to New York City and sold JA horses to the New York Police Department. In 1887, she traded the Quitaque Ranch for Goodnight's one-third interest in the JA, a share that comprised 336000 acres (1,359.7 km²), 48,000 cattle as well as mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
s, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, and rights to the JA brand.
In 1911, while she was in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Cornelia came upon her nephew, James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., then a former Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the New York Assembly. She persuaded Wadsworth to take the vacant position of JA manager. He agreed, but after four years left again in 1915, having been elected in 1914 as a Republican to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from New York, the first class elected under the Seventeenth Amendment
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
to the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
One of the JA managers was Timothy Dwight Hobart
Timothy Dwight Hobart
Timothy Dwight Hobart was a Vermont-born businessman, landowner, surveyor, and civic leader in the Texas Panhandle. He lived primarily in Pampa, the seat of Gray County, which he had helped to establish in 1902. He was elected mayor of Pampa in 1927...
(1855–1935), a Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
native. His experience was more in real estate than in raising cattle. He had surveyed the five million acres (20,000 km²) of the New York and Texas Land Company in Mobeetie
Mobeetie, Texas
Mobeetie is a city in northwestern Wheeler County, Texas, United States, just across the Sweetwater Creek from Texas Route 152. The population was 107 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, one of the first three settlements in the Panhandle. He was affiliated with the White Deer Land Company in Pampa
Pampa, Texas
Pampa is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,887 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gray County.Pampa is the principal city of the Pampa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Gray and Roberts counties....
, the seat of Gray County. He was also a president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association was created in 1877, when 40 Texas cattlemen joined together out of their common interest to end unbridled livestock theft and formed what was to become Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association....
. Cornelia trusted him to be co-executor of her estate, of which there were many outstanding debts, not settled for two decades. Hobart also was elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Pampa in 1929.
House in Clarendon
Being a naturalized British subject who spent most of her time in Ireland, Cornelia maintained a home in ClarendonClarendon, Texas
Clarendon is a city in Donley County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,974 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Donley County, Clarendon is located on United States Highway 287 in the Texas Panhandle some sixty miles east of Amarillo. It was established in 1878 by Methodist clergyman L.H...
, the seat of Donley County
Donley County, Texas
Donley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 3,828. It is named for Stockton P. Donley, a frontier lawyer. Its county seat is Clarendon....
, away from the ranch. She contributed generously to various civic projects about the JA Ranch, which by the time of her death covered half a million acres (4,000 km²). She provided funds to build the Adair Hospital, later the Saints' Roost Museum
Saints' Roost Museum
The Saints' Roost Museum in Clarendon, Texas, United States, features heirlooms from Panhandle ranches, farms, and businesses as well as a renovated railroad depot and a collection of materials from the Red River War. The unusual name of the museum is derived from Clarendon having been established...
in Clarendon. She contributed to the first Young Men's Christian Association building and to the Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
Church in Clarendon.
Managing Glenveagh Castle
Glenveagh was completed between 1867 and 1873. After Cornelia inherited the estate, she added a new wing and round tower to the building. She planted Scots PineScots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
and rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
in her garden. Before he married Cornelia, John Adair had become notorious for having driven poor tenants off the land to improve the aesthetic beauty of Glenveagh. Cornelia though was renowned as a kind landlady and a benefactor. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, she used the castle to house wounded Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
soldiers and refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s.
A personal friend of Lord Baden-Powell
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement....
, Cornelia donated generously to establish the Scout movement
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
. She died in England and is interred next to Adair in Killenard churchyard Co. Laois Ireland. In the years after Cornelia's death, Glenveagh fell into disrepair. In 1984, it became an Irish national park.
The JA Ranch today
In 1935, after the death of Timothy Hobart, the management of the JA passed to her grandson, Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth RitchieMontie Ritchie
Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth Ritchie , known as Montie Ritchie, was a dual British subject and American citizen who became a leading cattle rancher and businessman in the Texas Panhandle during the 20th century. From 1935-1993, he was the manager of his family-owned JA Ranch southeast of Amarillo...
, son of Jack Rithie. He managed the ranch, along with another spread in Colorado, until his retirement in 1993. The ranch then passed to Montie Ritchie's daughter, Cornelia Wadsworth “Ninia” Ritchie, later the wife of Republican Texas State Senator Teel Bivins
Teel Bivins
Miles Teel Bivins served as United States ambassador to Sweden between 2004 and 2006. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2004, and sworn in at Washington D.C., on May 26. He presented his credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on June 9...
of Amarillo. Ninia's son, Andrew M. Bivins, has since joined the JA management team. Teel Bivins served as U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
during the second administration of U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
An American Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
was named in 1940 in honor of Cornelia Adair.
Further reading
- Cornelia Adair, My Diary: August 30 to November 5, 1874 (AustinAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
: University of Texas Press, 1965). - Armstrong CountyArmstrong County, TexasArmstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, and was formed in 1876 from Bexar County. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area. As of 2000, the population is 2,148. Its county seat is Claude. Armstrong is named for one of several Texas pioneer families named Armstrong...
Historical Association, A Collection of Memories: A History of Armstrong County, 1876–1965 (Hereford, Texas: Pioneer, 1965). - Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise (Wichita FallsWichita Falls, TexasWichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
: Nortex, 1975). - Harley True BurtonHarley True BurtonHarley True Burton was a Texas historian, college president, and small-town mayor. He was born in Decatur, the seat of Wise County, located north of Fort Worth....
, A History of the JA Ranch (Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1928; rpt., New York: Argonaut, 1966), now a rare out-of-print edition - J. Evetts HaleyJ. Evetts HaleyJames Evetts Haley, Sr., usually known as J. Evetts Haley , was a Texas-born political activist and historian who wrote multiple works on the American West, including an enduring biography of legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight...
, Charles Goodnight (NormanNorman, OklahomaNorman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
: University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
Press, 1949).