Jack Abernathy

John Reeves "Catch-'em-alive Jack" Abernathy (January 11, 1876 – January 8, 1941) was an American cowboy, U.S. marshal, and western legend from Bosque County, Texas.^[1]

Early life

He was born on January 11, 1876, to Martin Van Buren Abernathy and Kittie Williams in Bosque County, Texas. In 1882 his family moved to Nolan County, Texas, and entered the cattle business. In 1887 at age 11 he worked as a cowboy for the A-K-X Ranch and helped drive a large herd of cattle 500 miles to market at Englewood, Kansas.^[2]

Career

To support his family, Abernathy traveled the country catching wolves and sold them to zoos, circuses, and traveling shows.^[3] His traveling show caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt, who invited Abernathy to go on a wolf hunt with him and some of his colleagues on a ranch in Oklahoma.^[4] By the end of the wolf hunt, Abernathy and Roosevelt were good friends. Abernathy spent his time catching wolves until he was the age of twenty eight when his friend President Roosevelt appointed Abernathy as the federal U.S. Marshall over the Oklahoma territory in 1906, making him the youngest U.S. Marshal in history.^[5] In 1907, his wife passed away leaving Abernathy alone with his children. Abernathy resigned his post of U.S. Marshal in 1910 and moved his family to Wichita Falls, Texas, during the oil boom to become a wildcatter.^[5]

Children

His children included Louis Abernathy and Temple Abernathy, who rode their horses from Oklahoma to New York City to visit their father and meet Theodore Roosevelt. His last born child was Jesse Pearl Abernathy. Her name was changed to Jesse Pearl after her mother died soon after giving birth. Jesse wrote books and moved to California and was a realtor.^[6] Jack Abernathy and his wife, Jessie Pearl, had five children, in the following order: Kitty Joe, the oldest of three daughters, Louis ("Bud"), Johnnie, (daughter), Temple, (son), Goldie, (daughter), and Pearlie, (daughter).^[7] Louis and Temple Abernathy took their first adventurous ride on horseback from Oklahoma to Sante Fe New Mexico and back, alone and at the ages of 9 and 5. Next was the horseback ride from Oklahoma to New York City. On a bet, they rode from Coney Island, New York, to San Francisco, California, at the ages of 11, and 7. They averaged about 60 miles a day, on the 4,500-mile trip, arriving in 62 days. That broke the only previously known record set earlier by an army officer who'd ridden horseback coast to coast in 182 days. It is all in Alta Abernathy's book.

Death

He died in 1941 in Long Beach, California, and was buried in Wichita Falls, Texas.^[8]

References

1. "John R. Abernathy – Wolf Catcher & Lawman – Legends of America". www.legendsofamerica.com. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
2. . Archived from the original on 2010-07-22. Retrieved 2010-08-01. Jack Abernathy was born in 1876 in Bosque County, Texas. In 1882 his family moved to Nolan County, Texas, and entered the booming cattle business. Jack was virtually a music prodigy and at age 6 played piano in a Sweetwater saloon for $13.00 an evening. ...
3. . Traces of Texas. 2019-03-20. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
4. Harris, Karen. "Catch 'Em Alive Jack's Strange But Lucrative Old West Occupation". History Daily. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
5. Kelly, Kate (2019-01-08). "Jack Abernathy: Catching Live Wolves Bare-Handed". America Comes Alive. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
6. "John R. Abernathy ("Catch 'Em Alive Jack")". geni_family_tree. 28 January 1876. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
7. "Bud and Me, The True Adventures of the Abernathy Boys", by Alta Abernathy, the surviving wife of Temple Abernathy, Copyright 1998, LCCN 97-78048; ISBN 0-9662166-0-1
8. Thrapp, Dan L. (1991). Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: A-F. University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-9418-9