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(4) Home in [[Clarendon, Texas|Clarendon]], [[Donley County, Texas]]​

(4) Home in [[Clarendon, Texas|Clarendon]], [[Donley County, Texas]]​

|religion=[[Episcopalian]]​

|religion=[[Episcopalian]]​

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​<br>

|footnotes='''Notes''':<br>

'''Notes''':<br>

*Cornelia Adair was born to privilege in the United States, became a [[United Kingdom|British]] subject, lived much of her life in [[Ireland]], but also maintained residence on the [[JA Ranch]] in the [[Texas]] Panhandle and in the nearby town of Clarendon in Donley County, Texas.​<br>

*Cornelia Adair was born to privilege in the United States, became a [[United Kingdom|British]] subject, lived much of her life in [[Ireland]], but also maintained residence on the [[JA Ranch]] in the [[Texas]] Panhandle and in the nearby town of Clarendon in Donley County, Texas.​<br>

* Though she could not vote in the United States, Cornelia Adair was active in the [[Republican Party]], to which her family had been devoted since its founding in 1854.​<br>

* Though she could not vote in the United States, Cornelia Adair was active in the [[Republican Party]], to which her family had been devoted since its founding in 1854.​<br>

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'''Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair''' (April 6, 1837 &ndash; September 22, 1921) was the matriarch of Glenveagh Castle in County Donegal, [[Ireland]], now an Irish national park, and the large [[JA Ranch]] southeast of [[Amarillo]] in the [[Texas]] Panhandle, a still-active cattle [[ranch]]. She is also remembered for having become a naturalized British subject and as a published diarist.​

'''Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair''' (April 6, 1837 &ndash; September 22, 1921) was the matriarch of Glenveagh Castle in County Donegal, [[Ireland]], now an Irish national park, and the large [[JA Ranch]] southeast of [[Amarillo]] in the [[Texas]] Panhandle, a still-active [[cattle]] ranch. She is also remembered for having become a naturalized British subject and as a published diarist.​

==Background==

==Background==

In 1855, the Wadsworths travelled to [[England]] and [[France]] on a two-year sojourn. On their return, Cornelia married Montgomery Harrison Ritchie of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], a descendant of [[Federalist Party]] leader Harrison Gray Otis (1765–1848). The Ritchies had two sons, Arthur (who died in childhood) and Montgomery Harrison "Jack" Ritchie (1861–1924), who outlived his mother by only three years.<ref name=PPHM>JA Ranch exhibit, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum,  Canyon, Texas.</ref>​

In 1855, the Wadsworths travelled to [[England]] and [[France]] on a two-year sojourn. On their return, Cornelia married Montgomery Harrison Ritchie of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], a descendant of [[Federalist Party]] leader Harrison Gray Otis (1765–1848). The Ritchies had two sons, Arthur (who died in childhood) and Montgomery Harrison "Jack" Ritchie (1861–1924), who outlived his mother by only three years.<ref name=PPHM>JA Ranch exhibit, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum,  Canyon, Texas.</ref>​

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The senior Montgomery Ritchie fought in [[North Carolina]] in 1862 in the [[American Civil War]] under Union Army [[General]] [[Ambrose E. Burnside]]. In 1864, he entered a battlefield to retrieve his father-in-law, General Wadsworth, who was mortally wounded in the head in the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] in [[Virginia]]. Ritchie brought Wadsworth's body to Geneseo for burial. Not long afterwards, Ritchie himself died of an illness contracted in battle and was also interred in Geneseo.<ref name=PPHM/>​

The senior Montgomery Ritchie fought in [[North Carolina]] in 1862 in the [[American Civil War]] under Union Army [[General]] [[Ambrose Burnside]]. In 1864, he entered a battlefield to retrieve his father-in-law, General Wadsworth, who was mortally wounded in the head in the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] in [[Virginia]]. Ritchie brought Wadsworth's body to Geneseo for burial. Not long afterwards, Ritchie himself died of an illness contracted in battle and was also interred in Geneseo.<ref name=PPHM/>​

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==Marriage to John George Adair==​

==Marriage to John George Adair==​

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Adair disliked living in New York City and wished to see the American West. For a time he established his brokerage firm in [[Denver]], [[Colorado]]. In 1874, the Adairs joined a bison hunt along the South Platte River in [[Nebraska]] and northeastern Colorado. Cornelia's brother had served as an aide to General [[Philip H. Sheridan]], and, according to Nancy Baker Jones in ''The Handbook of Texas'', Cornelia may have used Sheridan's influence to obtain a military escort under Colonel Richard Irving Dodge to accompany the party, which departed from Sidney in Cheyenne County, [[Nebraska]]. Cornelia kept a diary (published 1918) of the two-month journey, which included details of a meeting near the South Platte of cavalry officers and Oglala Sioux [[Native Americans|Indians]].<ref name=hbook/>​

Adair disliked living in New York City and wished to see the American West. For a time he established his brokerage firm in [[Denver]], [[Colorado]]. In 1874, the Adairs joined a bison hunt along the South Platte River in [[Nebraska]] and northeastern Colorado. Cornelia's brother had served as an aide to General [[Philip H. Sheridan]], and, according to Nancy Baker Jones in ''The Handbook of Texas'', Cornelia may have used Sheridan's influence to obtain a military escort under Colonel Richard Irving Dodge to accompany the party, which departed from Sidney in Cheyenne County, [[Nebraska]]. Cornelia kept a diary (published 1918) of the two-month journey, which included details of a meeting near the South Platte of cavalry officers and Oglala Sioux [[Native Americans|Indians]].<ref name=hbook/>​

 

==Partnership with Charles Goodnight==​

==Partnership with Charles Goodnight==

 

In the summer of 1877, the Adairs partnered with the Texas [[cattle]]man Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), who told them about the Palo Duro Canyon country where cattle could graze in abundance in summers, with adequate grass and water, and then winter under the protection of the canyon walls. Goodnight drove the first herd of cattle to the Palo Duro, part of a larger landscape known as the Llano Estacado, or "Staked Plains" of the Texas Panhandle. The most prominent feature of the JA is the canyon on the southwest. In the centr of the ranch is a large plain. To the east are the rolling hills of Mulberry and Halls Creek. To the north is the Caprock.<ref name=JA/>​

In the summer of 1877, the Adairs partnered with the Texas [[cattle]]man Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), who told them about the Palo Duro Canyon country where cattle could graze in abundance in summers, with adequate grass and water, and then winter under the protection of the canyon walls. Goodnight drove the first herd of cattle to the Palo Duro, part of a larger landscape known as the Llano Estacado, or "Staked Plains" of the Texas Panhandle. The most prominent feature of the JA is the canyon on the southwest. In the centr of the ranch is a large plain. To the east are the rolling hills of Mulberry and Halls Creek. To the north is the Caprock.<ref name=JA/>​

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On April 10, 2015, the West Texas Historical Association, at its 92nd annual meeting in Amarillo, presented a program at Amarillo College on the life of Cornelia Adair. The presentations include "Early Years and Marriages" by William Green of [[Canyon, Texas|Canyon]], and from three from West Texas A&M University in Canyon: Dollie Lookingbill, "Cornelia Out West: A Hunting Trip and the Formation of the JA Partnership"; Maureen Hubbart, "The Timothy Dwight Hobart Letters: Cornelia Adair's Management of the JA Ranch", and Allen Hunt, "Cornelia's Transatlantic Connections: The Later Years".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103005/|title=The Life of Cornelia Adair|publisher=West Texas Historical Association|accessdate=March 21, 2015 2015}}</ref>​

On April 10, 2015, the West Texas Historical Association, at its 92nd annual meeting in Amarillo, presented a program at Amarillo College on the life of Cornelia Adair. The presentations include "Early Years and Marriages" by William Green of [[Canyon, Texas|Canyon]], and from three from West Texas A&M University in Canyon: Dollie Lookingbill, "Cornelia Out West: A Hunting Trip and the Formation of the JA Partnership"; Maureen Hubbart, "The Timothy Dwight Hobart Letters: Cornelia Adair's Management of the JA Ranch", and Allen Hunt, "Cornelia's Transatlantic Connections: The Later Years".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103005/|title=The Life of Cornelia Adair|publisher=West Texas Historical Association|accessdate=March 21, 2015 2015}}</ref>​

 

==Further reading==​

==Further reading==​

* Cornelia Adair, My Diary: 30 August to 5 November 1874 ([[Austin]]: [[University of Texas]] Press, 1965).​

* Cornelia Adair, My Diary: 30 August to 5 November 1874 ([[Austin]]: [[University of Texas]] Press, 1965).​