A Collection of Memories: A History of Armstrong County, 1876-1965 Page: 33
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Armstrong County
Mr. and Mrs. George Doshier
George Richard Doshier
George Richard Doshier came to the JA
Ranch in 1881, when he was 24 years of age.
He was born to Mr. and Mrs. James Doshier,
on Jan. 6, 1857. The familywas living near
Fort Smith, Arkansas at the time. Civil
War hardship always lingered in the memory
of George Doshier. Arkansas, being abor-
der state, was a state divided in its loyalties,
some for the south, some for the north.
James Doshier served in the Civil War,but
due to a back injury, he was released before
the termination of the war, and returned
to his family. The "Bush-whackers" made
life so miserable for the Doshier family that
they moved from Arkansas, and went to
Greely, and returned after the war. But
there was nothing to come back to, so
ten years later, James Doshier moved
his family to Texas. By now George
was a lad of fourteen. The family settled
first in Lamar County, then moved to
Bell, and later to Erath County.
George Doshier's first recorded job away
from home was on the Sikes Ranch in Jack
'County and next he worked for the Rider
Ranch in the same county. Clint Rider
moved his herds out of Jack County in-
to King County with Henry Stradley as
manager, and George Doshier leading theherd. While he was working in King
County, Doshier was in charge o what
was called Kroton Camp. In 1879, George
was employed by the Spurs, and it is
supposed that he went from the Spur to
the JA in '81.
The first boundary fence--across the north
line of the JA--was built the year after
George Doshier came. Land values were
around twenty cents per acre--$100 per
acre today. In 1883, 170,000 acres known as
the Tule were added to the JA for twenty
cents per acre. In the winter of '84, George
helped to work the first wagon road from JA
headquarters to the Tule.
There was no railroad closer than Colorado
City, Texas, and the freighting was done
from there during the years 1881-1883 by
ox-team. In 1883 the Fort Worth and Denver
was extended to Wichita Falls, and a man by
the name of Jim Hughes began freighting
supplies to the JA. He used five ten-mule
teams. Each pulled three wagons which
made a caravan of fifteen wagons--a slow
way to receive a long looked for letter. In
1885, the Fort Worth and Denver moved up
Ito Harrold, Texas, and in 1887, it came on
to Claude. The JA freighted from Clarendon
in 1887, going in one day and returning
the next.
Before the railroad came, the cattle were
trailed to market. The drives were made
in the fall and in the spring. George
Doshier's first trip was in 1883. Charles
Beverley was in charge of the herd of
27,000 steers. Hands were: George Case,
John Grady, Little Jose (Jose Martinez),
Mr. Arnold, the cook, and George Doshier.*
Sixteen or eighteen men usually made the
drive. A herd traveled about twelve or fif-
teen miles per day; the cattle grazed all the
way, and reached Dodge City in good condi-
tion. "Old Blue" led the herd.
The first year that George worked on the
ranch, there were 6,019 calves branded, and
a tally of 19,009 grown cattle. Six years
later, the number had practically doubled.
--H. T. Burton: History of the JA Ranch,
Press of Von Boeckmann Jones Co.
On Dec. 22, 1887, Doshier married Para-
lee Derrick Ragsdale, and established his
home on McClelland Creek nearold Claren-
don. He had resigned his job with the JA.
He was now foreman of the Heart Ranch
owned by an English company. He was in
charge of the horse range, and suspected
rustling. He located the guilty men, and they
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Armstrong County Historical Society. A Collection of Memories: A History of Armstrong County, 1876-1965, book, 1965; Hereford, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91040/m1/41/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .