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{{Infobox person​

{{Infobox person​

| name=Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair​

| name=Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair​

| birth_date=April 6, 1837​

| birth_date=April 6, 1837​

| birth_place=[[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], USA​

| birth_place=[[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], USA​

| death_place =[[England]]​

| death_place =[[England]]​

| resting_place=Killenard Churchyard in [[Ireland]]​

| resting_place=Killenard Churchyard in [[Ireland]]​

|spouse=(1) Montgomery Harrison Ritchie (1826–1864, married 1857–his death in [[American Civil War]])<br>​

|spouse=(1) Montgomery Harrison Ritchie (1826–1864, married 1857–his death in [[American Civil War]])<br/>​

(2) [[John George Adair]] (1869-1885, his death)​<br>

(2) [[John George Adair]] (1869-1885, his death)​<br>

'''Children''':<br>

'''Children''':<br>

* Mrs. Adair invited [[Belgium|Belgian]] refugees to stay at Glenveagh Castle during [[World War I]].​<br>

* Mrs. Adair invited [[Belgium|Belgian]] refugees to stay at Glenveagh Castle during [[World War I]].​<br>

*Wherever she lived, Cornelia Adair, though a shrewd businesswoman, was much beloved in her community as a generous philanthropist.​<br>

*Wherever she lived, Cornelia Adair, though a shrewd businesswoman, was much beloved in her community as a generous philanthropist.​<br>

*Cornelia's great-great-grandson, Andrew M. Bivins of [[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]], joined the JA Ranch management team in 2005 as the fifth generation of Ritchies and Adairs in JA operation.​

*Cornelia's great-great-grandson, Andrew M. Bivins of [[Amarillo]], joined the JA Ranch management team in 2005 as the fifth generation of Ritchies and Adairs in JA operation.​

}}​

}}​

​

​

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/>​

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/>​

==Marriage to John George Adair==

==Marriage to John George Adair==

​

​

In their contract, John Adair put up two-thirds of the capital to establish the ranch, and Goodnight was able to borrow his one-third at 10 percent interest from Adair as well as supply the initial cattle. The Adairs rarely stayed at the ranch, because of their other properties in England and Ireland. The ranch still bears Adair's initials, the JA. Goodnight and Adair signed two five-year contracts. In 1885, Adair died of natural causes while he was in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]. At the time, he was returning with a servant to Ireland. Cornelia, who did not accompany Adair on that trip, had his body returned for burial in the Protestant Church graveyard at Killenard County, Laois, Ireland.<ref name=PPHM/>​

In their contract, John Adair put up two-thirds of the capital to establish the ranch, and Goodnight was able to borrow his one-third at 10 percent interest from Adair as well as supply the initial cattle. The Adairs rarely stayed at the ranch, because of their other properties in England and Ireland. The ranch still bears Adair's initials, the JA. Goodnight and Adair signed two five-year contracts. In 1885, Adair died of natural causes while he was in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]. At the time, he was returning with a servant to Ireland. Cornelia, who did not accompany Adair on that trip, had his body returned for burial in the Protestant Church graveyard at Killenard County, Laois, Ireland.<ref name=PPHM/>​

 

==Overseeing the JA Ranch==​

==Overseeing the JA Ranch==

After John Adair's death, despite the distance and difficulty of travel at the time, Cornelia took an active interest in the JA and divided her time between the ranch, the castle in Ireland, and the house in England. She insisted that Goodnight pay high wages and recruit only upstanding [[cowboy]]s.<ref name=hbook/>​

After John Adair's death, despite the distance and difficulty of travel at the time, Cornelia took an active interest in the JA and divided her time between the ranch, the castle in Ireland, and the house in England. She insisted that Goodnight pay high wages and recruit only upstanding [[cowboy]]s.<ref name=hbook/>​

 

Sometimes, she questioned Goodnight's judgment in the management of the ranch. For instance, she hired John Edward Farrington as the manager after Goodnight withdrew from their arrangement even though Goodnight had specifically trained Henry Webster Taylor, Goodnight's nephew, as his successor. As the first JA manager, Goodnight had quarrelled with Cornelia's son, Jack, whom he claimed to have caught drinking [[alcohol]] and shooting craps with the cowboys in violation of the JA's strict code of ethics. Goodnight demoted Jack Ritchie, who moved to New York City and sold JA horses to the city police department.<ref name=PPHM/> In 1887, she traded the Quitaque Ranch for Goodnight's one-third interest in the JA, a share that comprised 336,000 acres, 48,000 cattle as well as [[mule]]s, horses, and rights to the JA brand.<ref>{{cite book​

Sometimes, she questioned Goodnight's judgment in the management of the ranch. For instance, she hired John Edward Farrington as the manager after Goodnight withdrew from their arrangement even though Goodnight had specifically trained Henry Webster Taylor, Goodnight's nephew, as his successor. As the first JA manager, Goodnight had quarrelled with Cornelia's son, Jack, whom he claimed to have caught drinking [[alcohol]] and shooting craps with the cowboys in violation of the JA's strict code of ethics. Goodnight demoted Jack Ritchie, who moved to New York City and sold JA horses to the city police department.<ref name=PPHM/> In 1887, she traded the Quitaque Ranch for Goodnight's one-third interest in the JA, a share that comprised 336,000 acres, 48,000 cattle as well as [[mule]]s, horses, and rights to the JA brand.<ref>{{cite book​

|title=Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography​

|title=Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography​

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hc35mM0PqSQC&pg=PA570&lpg=PA570&dq=cornelia+adair&source=web&ots=rS2yaIZfHK&sig=XRyoLa_HTSxDSVI_zoH2KhQ7svY&hl=en​

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hc35mM0PqSQC&pg=PA570&lpg=PA570&dq=cornelia+adair&source=web&ots=rS2yaIZfHK&sig=XRyoLa_HTSxDSVI_zoH2KhQ7svY&hl=en​

}}</ref>​

}}</ref>​

 

In 1911, while she was in [[London]], Cornelia came upon her nephew, James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., then a former [[Speaker]] of the New York Assembly. She persuaded Wadsworth to take the vacant position of JA manager. He agreed, but after four years left again in 1915, having been elected in 1914 as a Republican to the [[United States Senate]] from New York, the first class elected under the [[Seventeenth Amendment]]  to the [[United States Constitution]].<ref name=PPHM/>​

In 1911, while she was in [[London]], Cornelia came upon her nephew, James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., then a former [[Speaker]] of the New York Assembly. She persuaded Wadsworth to take the vacant position of JA manager. He agreed, but after four years left again in 1915, having been elected in 1914 as a Republican to the [[United States Senate]] from New York, the first class elected under the [[Seventeenth Amendment]]  to the [[United States Constitution]].<ref name=PPHM/>

 

One of the JA managers was [[Timothy Dwight Hobart]], a [[Vermont]] native whose experience was more in real estate than in raising cattle. He had surveyed the five million acres  of the New York and Texas Land Company in Mobeetie,  one of the first three settlements in the Panhandle. He was affiliated with the White Deer Land Company in Pampa in Gray County, Texas. He was also a president of the [[Fort Worth]]-based Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. Cornelia trusted him to be co-executor of her estate, of which there were many outstanding debts, not settled for two decades. Hobart was elected mayor of Pampa in 1927 but served only a few months.<ref name=PPHM/>​

One of the JA managers was [[Timothy Dwight Hobart]], a [[Vermont]] native whose experience was more in real estate than in raising cattle. He had surveyed the five million acres  of the New York and Texas Land Company in Mobeetie,  one of the first three settlements in the Panhandle. He was affiliated with the White Deer Land Company in Pampa in Gray County, Texas. He was also a president of the [[Fort Worth]]-based Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. Cornelia trusted him to be co-executor of her estate, of which there were many outstanding debts, not settled for two decades. Hobart was elected mayor of Pampa in 1927 but served only a few months.<ref name=PPHM/>​

 

==House in Clarendon==​

==Residence in Clarendon==​

Being a naturalized British subject who spent most of her time in Ireland, Cornelia also maintained a home in Clarendon in Donley County.She contributed generously to various civic projects about the JA Ranch, which by the time of her death covered half a million acres. She provided funds to build the Adair Hospital, later the Saints' Roost Museum in Clarendon. She contributed to the first [[YMCA]] building and to the [[Episcopal]] Church in Clarendon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703164517/|title=Saints' Roost Museum|publisher=saintsroost.org|accessdateJuly 3, 2008}}</ref>​

Being a naturalized British subject who spent most of her time in Ireland, Cornelia also maintained a home in Clarendon in Donley County.She contributed generously to various civic projects about the JA Ranch, which by the time of her death covered half a million acres. She provided funds to build the Adair Hospital, later the Saints' Roost Museum in Clarendon. She contributed to the first [[YMCA]] building and to the [[Episcopal]] Church in Clarendon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703164517/|title=Saints' Roost Museum|publisher=saintsroost.org|accessdateJuly 3, 2008}}</ref>​

 

Cornelia Adair died just days before she was planning another trip to the Texas Panhandle. Her passing had a profound effect on her Texas friends. A memorial service was held in Clarendon on the same day as her funeral in Ireland. Among the mourners was the 85-year-old Goodnight who said that except for the passing of his mother and former partner Oliver Loving no other death had so affected him as that of Mrs. Adair's. Timothy Hobart called her "one of the noblest characters I have ever known." Lester Fields Sheffy, Hobart's biographer, wrote that Mrs. Adair "loved the prairies, its hills and canyons, and its vast herds She held in highest esteem the hundreds of people who had been connected with her in this great ranching enterprise. She frequently [had] expressed a desire that her last resting place might be in the little cemetery near the [ranch] headquarters."<ref>Lester Fields Sheffy, ''The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart, 1855–1935: Colonization of West Texas'' (Canyon, Texas: Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, 1950), pp. 214–215.</ref> Instead, she was interred next to Adair at the Killenard Churchyard in Ireland.​

Cornelia Adair died just days before she was planning another trip to the Texas Panhandle. Her passing had a profound effect on her Texas friends. A memorial service was held in Clarendon on the same day as her funeral in Ireland. Among the mourners was the 85-year-old Goodnight who said that except for the passing of his mother and former partner Oliver Loving no other death had so affected him as that of Mrs. Adair's. Timothy Hobart called her "one of the noblest characters I have ever known." Lester Fields Sheffy, Hobart's biographer, wrote that Mrs. Adair "loved the prairies, its hills and canyons, and its vast herds She held in highest esteem the hundreds of people who had been connected with her in this great ranching enterprise. She frequently [had] expressed a desire that her last resting place might be in the little cemetery near the [ranch] headquarters."<ref>Lester Fields Sheffy, ''The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart, 1855–1935: Colonization of West Texas'' (Canyon, Texas: Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, 1950), pp. 214–215.</ref> Instead, she was interred next to Adair at the Killenard Churchyard in Ireland.​

 

==Managing Glenveagh Castle==​

==Managing Glenveagh Castle==​

Glenveagh was completed between 1867 and 1873. After Cornelia inherited the estate, she added a new wing and round tower to the building. She planted Scots Pine and rhododendron in her garden. Before he married Cornelia, John Adair had become notorious for having driven poor tenants off the land to improve the aesthetic beauty of Glenveagh. Cornelia though was renowned as a kind landlady and a benefactor. During [[World War I]], she used the castle to house wounded [[Belgium|Belgian]] soldiers and refugees.<ref>[http://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/glenveagh-castle.html glenveagh castle<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>​

Glenveagh was completed between 1867 and 1873. After Cornelia inherited the estate, she added a new wing and round tower to the building. She planted Scots Pine and rhododendron in her garden. Before he married Cornelia, John Adair had become notorious for having driven poor tenants off the land to improve the aesthetic beauty of Glenveagh. Cornelia though was renowned as a kind landlady and a benefactor. During [[World War I]], she used the castle to house wounded [[Belgium|Belgian]] soldiers and refugees.<ref>[http://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/glenveagh-castle.html glenveagh castle<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>​

A personal friend of  Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Cornelia donated generously to establish the [[Boy Scouts]]. In the years after Cornelia's death, Glenveagh fell into disrepair. In 1984, it was made into an Irish national park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401123000/|title=Glenveagh National Park History|publisher=Glenveaghnationalpark.ie|accessdate=

A personal friend of  Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Cornelia donated generously to establish the [[Boy Scouts]]. In the years after Cornelia's death, Glenveagh fell into disrepair. In 1984, it was made into an Irish national park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401123000/|title=Glenveagh National Park History|publisher=Glenveaghnationalpark.ie|accessdate=

April 1, 2008}}</ref>​

April 1, 2008}}</ref>​

 

==The JA Ranch today==​

==The JA Ranch today==​

Timothy Dwight Hobart had great difficulty with the British government and the State of Texas in disposing of Mrs. Adair's property. The governments demanded tax payments which could be raised only with the sale of parts of the ranch at a time when the market for beef prices was particularly poor. The British demands required Hobart to make several trips abroad to explain the situation to the government agents. Hobart said his greatest concern was in meeting the needs of Mrs. Adair's heirs. He also tried to honor her wishes that the ranch be sold in small parcels to settlers, a processed that dragged on for many years. He hoped petroleum would be found on Adair lands to ease in the financial consideration in the disposal of the property.<ref>Sheffy, "Timothy Hobart", pp. 221–221.</ref>​

Timothy Dwight Hobart had great difficulty with the British government and the State of Texas in disposing of Mrs. Adair's property. The governments demanded tax payments which could be raised only with the sale of parts of the ranch at a time when the market for beef prices was particularly poor. The British demands required Hobart to make several trips abroad to explain the situation to the government agents. Hobart said his greatest concern was in meeting the needs of Mrs. Adair's heirs. He also tried to honor her wishes that the ranch be sold in small parcels to settlers, a processed that dragged on for many years. He hoped petroleum would be found on Adair lands to ease in the financial consideration in the disposal of the property.<ref>Sheffy, "Timothy Hobart", pp. 221–221.</ref>​

 

In 1935, after Hobart's death, the management of the JA passed to Mrs. Adair's grandson, [[Montie Ritchie|Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth Ritchie]], son of Jack Rithie. He managed the ranch, along with another spread in Colorado, until his retirement in 1993. The ranch then passed to Montie Ritchie's daughter, Cornelia Wadsworth "Nina" Ritchie, later the first wife of Republican Texas State Senator  Teel Bivins of Amarillo, from whom she was divorced. Andrew M. Bivins, the son of Teel and Nina Bivins, since joined the JA management team. Teel Bivins served prior to his death in 2006 as [[US Ambassador]] to [[Sweden]] during the second administration of [[U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]].<ref name=PPHM/>​

In 1935, after Hobart's death, the management of the JA passed to Mrs. Adair's grandson, [[Montie Ritchie|Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth Ritchie]], son of Jack Rithie. He managed the ranch, along with another spread in Colorado, until his retirement in 1993. The ranch then passed to Montie Ritchie's daughter, Cornelia Wadsworth "Nina" Ritchie, later the first wife of Republican Texas State Senator  Teel Bivins of Amarillo, from whom she was divorced. Andrew M. Bivins, the son of Teel and Nina Bivins, since joined the JA management team. Teel Bivins served prior to his death in 2006 as [[US Ambassador]] to [[Sweden]] during the second administration of [[U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]].<ref name=PPHM/>​

 

An American Quarter Horse was named in 1940 in honour of Cornelia Adair.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/cornelia+adair|title=Cornelia Adair Quarter Horse|publisher=allbreedpedigree|accessdate=April 8, 2008}}</ref>​

An American Quarter Horse was named in 1940 in honour of Cornelia Adair.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/cornelia+adair|title=Cornelia Adair Quarter Horse|publisher=allbreedpedigree|accessdate=April 8, 2008}}</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>​

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>​