Cornelia Adair

Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair (April 6, 1837 – September 22, 1921) was a Texas ranch landowner.[1][2]

Cornelia Adair
Portrait by Eduardo Tofano
Born6 April 1837 
Philadelphia 
Died22 September 1921  (aged 84)
London
OccupationRancher, diarist 
Spouse(s)Montgomery Ritchie (1857-1864, his death)
John George Adair (1869-1885, his death)
Children2

Life

Adair was born Cornelia Wadsworth on April, 6, 1837, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was one of six children of James S. Wadsworth and Mary Craig Wharton Wadsworth. Adair grew up in a wealthy family who owned over 50,000 acres of land near Geneseo, New York.[2] Her Wadsworth ancestors established Hartford, Connecticut, after moving from the Massachusetts Colony.[3]

She became an accomplished horserider which encouraged her interests in traveling across the prairies of the western United States.[4]

In 1876,[3] her second husband became a partner with Charles Goodnight to found the JA Ranch. When her second husband died, she became partner.[5] She enjoyed hunting and participated at roundups.[6]

She founded a hospital, and supported building the Clarendon YMCA building.[7]

In addition to her life on the ranch, Adair "spent much of her time in her fashionable house in London"[8] and stayed at a Rathdaire, Ireland, cottage and at her Glenveagh Castle in Donegal, Ireland. In retirement, she built a home in Bath, England.[8]

Family

She was married to Montgomery Ritchie from 1857 until his death in 1864 from complications after serving in the Civil War. They had two children. In 1869, she married John George (Jack) Adair, a Scottish-Irish businessman and landowner. Following the wedding, the couple moved to Geneseo, New York.[9]. The couple divided their time between Ireland, England, and New York until his death in Missouri in 1885.

Her great-grand daughter is Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie,[10] who continued the family's ownership of JA Ranch.[8]

Adair died in London while on vacation.[11]

Works
  • My diary, August 30 to November 5, 1874 introduction by Montagu K. Brown, illustrations by Malcolm Thurgood. Austin, Texas & London: Texas University Press, 1965. OCLC 556673646
  • Letters of a cattle baroness, San Antonio, Tex., 1984. OCLC 310367842
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References

Citations

  1. Massey 2006, pp. 148,161.
  2. Jones, Nancy Baker (June 9, 2010). "Adair, Cordelia Wadsworth". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  3. "Painting of Mrs. Adair Placed in Museum". The Canyon News. Texas, Canyon. February 28, 1935. p. 5. Retrieved August 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Massey 2006, p. 148.
  5. Lyons, Chuck (March 23, 2018). "Cornelia Adair's Journey to the JA". HistoryNet. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  6. Massey 2006, pp. 153,161.
  7. "Cornelia Adair | Saints' Roost Museum". Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  8. Liles, Deborah M.; Venable, Cecilia Gutierrez (2019). Texas Women and Ranching: On the Range, at the Rodeo, and in Their Communities. Texas A&M University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-62349-740-8. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  9. Massey 2006, p. 151.
  10. "Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie". Cowgirl Hall of Fame & Museum. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  11. "Cornelia Adair". Journal and Courier. Indiana, Lafayette. October 29, 1921. p. 6. Retrieved August 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

  • Massey, Sarah (2006). Texas Women on the Cattle Trails. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-585-44543-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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