I do genealogical research in a hit-or-miss fashion. Right now I am gathering information on a great-great-grandmother's family. I read somewhere on the Web that this woman's father was robbed and murdered when she was a tyke. Even though it's "news" that's 155 years old, I tried to find some newspaper article to back this up. Today I happened upon a variation of the story.
In this version, Dad was off to buy cattle and he did not come home. He was carrying a large sum of money so it is very possible that he was robbed and killed. Or killed and robbed. This immediately brings to mind Louis L'Amour's novel Conagher and the made-for-TV movie adaptation of it.
In the Sam Elliott-Katharine Ross movie (which is one of my absolute favorites), Mr. Teale goes off to buy cattle, leaving Evie at their ranch with his young children (her step-children). His horse stumbles on a rocky slope and breaks a leg. The horse lands on Mr. Teale. It is a hopeless situation. Teale kills his horse and then lies there awaiting his own death. For months Evie and the children anticipate his return. Eventually, they accept that something has gone terribly wrong and he will not be coming back. Mr. Teale's story ends.
Toward the end of the novel, Conagher comes upon the remains of a rider and horse. When he goes to bury the man, he finds a saddlebag under the body. The bag contains gold and Conagher realizes who it is and what he has found. He and Evie use the money to buy a ranch with more promise than the one Mr. Teale had claimed.
So maybe my great-great-great-grandfather met a similar fate. Maybe he was mortally injured in an accident. Maybe someone else came upon his remains, found the money and was able to use it for a stake.
If I keep digging, maybe I'll find out that I'm related to Sam Elliott!
In this version, Dad was off to buy cattle and he did not come home. He was carrying a large sum of money so it is very possible that he was robbed and killed. Or killed and robbed. This immediately brings to mind Louis L'Amour's novel Conagher and the made-for-TV movie adaptation of it.
In the Sam Elliott-Katharine Ross movie (which is one of my absolute favorites), Mr. Teale goes off to buy cattle, leaving Evie at their ranch with his young children (her step-children). His horse stumbles on a rocky slope and breaks a leg. The horse lands on Mr. Teale. It is a hopeless situation. Teale kills his horse and then lies there awaiting his own death. For months Evie and the children anticipate his return. Eventually, they accept that something has gone terribly wrong and he will not be coming back. Mr. Teale's story ends.
Toward the end of the novel, Conagher comes upon the remains of a rider and horse. When he goes to bury the man, he finds a saddlebag under the body. The bag contains gold and Conagher realizes who it is and what he has found. He and Evie use the money to buy a ranch with more promise than the one Mr. Teale had claimed.
So maybe my great-great-great-grandfather met a similar fate. Maybe he was mortally injured in an accident. Maybe someone else came upon his remains, found the money and was able to use it for a stake.
If I keep digging, maybe I'll find out that I'm related to Sam Elliott!