52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (Week 6): Earning a Living: Pa Jim Cauble - Cowboy and Farmer

Continuing on with Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, this newest post is about how an ancestor made a living. This was a hard one to decide. Among the varied occupations in my families are potters and wheelwrights (Oliver, Yates) from South Carolina to Alabama to Mississippi; mill owners (Musgrove of South Carolina); milliner (my great-grandmother Baldridge-Dennis' sister at Comfort, Texas); mercantile owners (Baldridge); and even one known as a schoolteacher (old Peter Cauble of Peach Tree Village, Texas). 

In the heart of Texas, where the plains stretch as far as the eye can see, my lineage runs deep with farmers and ranchers. Among them, "Pa Jim" Cauble, my great-grandfather, stood tall—a testament to the Texan spirit. Born on March 18, 1880, in Eastland County, Texas, and passing on May 20, 1962, in Fisher County, Texas, James Andrew Cauble's life was as rich as the soil he farmed, and the horses and cattle he rounded up on various ranches. 

Jim's legacy was rooted in agriculture, a tradition proudly carried on by his son, Lois, and grandson, Kiefer, my father. I, too, share this legacy, having worked in the cotton fields of our family farm(s) near Roby, Texas. This land, nestled in "The Big Country" area around Abilene, Texas, was more than just a place; it was a testament to the enduring spirit of Texas farmers and ranchers.

Pa Jim's journey began as a cowboy in Eastland County, where fate would have him meet Helena Olivia Ziegenfuss, a Prussian-born girl who later taught him to read and write. Their love story, starting with their marriage on March 9, 1897, was as enduring as the land they would come to settle in Fisher County in 1901.

The United States Federal censuses for 1900 (Eastland County, Texas), 1910, 1920 and 1930 (Fisher County, Texas) would name his occupation as “farmer”, but he was known as a cowboy in the places he lived. Like many other Texans, he did, of course, farm the land he rented or owned. 

Jim's work on the Newman Ranch in Nolan County was the stuff of legend, from jockeying in horse races (which was illegal at that time) held on the ranch to his uncanny ability to detect screwworms in livestock—a trait both admired and a bit unsettling. The cowboys would say “he could smell a screwworm before you could smell or see it”. The first day or so there's no detection of the nasty parasites. Do a google. It's gross. He was one of the first cowboys on the Newman Ranch (see his obituary below). His legacy is recorded in the Abilene Reporter-News (Ablene, Texas) on Monday, May 21, 1962, page 13. 

https://www.newspapers.com/image/761655429

Jim Cauble wasn't just any cowboy or farmer; his choice of hunting companions, greyhounds over the more typical bloodhounds, spoke to a man who valued speed and grace in the rolling plains of Texas (now known as “The Big Country” area).

James Andrew "Pa Jim" Cauble with his greyhounds

 As I reflect on the stories passed down from my grandfather and father, I feel a deep connection to this land and the ancestors who shaped it. Pa Jim's life, marked by hard work, innovation, and a deep love for Texas, continues to inspire those of us who follow in his footsteps.

- Revis