John Rollo
6.63 GB, 94 Folders
A2015-081; A2017-038; A2018-014
1890-1945 (unknown)
John Rollo has lived in the southeast of Queensland, Australia for most of his life and has spent most of his working life herding Brahman cattle in Queensland and the Northern Territory, Australia. Mr. Rollo has had a lifelong interest in cattle, their breeding, research and giving of that knowledge freely. He writes, “from as long as I can remember I have had a great interest in cattle and their breeding. King Ranch and their Santa Gertrudis cattle caught my interest from an early age. Early retirement has given me the extra time to further pursue this interest, research being an excellent activity to keep the mind active. Researching King Ranch and their livestock breeding methods along with the general history of the ranch and the area is still of great interest to me. It would please me greatly if someone reviewing this material were to find things of interest to add to their knowledge.” From South Texas Archives, we thank you for your work and sharing your research.
James Bryden was born in Scotland on December 6th, 1819. He immigrated to the United States sometime around 1852. Records point to his arrival to New Orleans. He served in the Civil War for the Confederate States of America in the 29th Battalion Cavalry. James Bryden was the representative for Major William Warren Chapman who partnered with Richard King on the Rincón de Santa Gertrudis property. There would later be a dispute on this piece of property which is detailed in the Texas Monthly article “The Secret History” in December, 2002. James Bryden would later become a herd boss for the King Ranch. James Bryden would also have his own sheep company called, Bryden & Co. James and Janet Bryden lived in Centennial House (1870-1878). Centennial House was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1966. Forbes Britton had the house built in 1849 to 1850.
Britton served from 1857-1861 in the Texas Senate as the Adjutant General and was the person emissary of Governor Sam Houston to U.S. President Buchanan in 1860. During the Civil War the house became a hospital. The Southern Mineral Corporation, Maston Nixon, president owned, restored, and preserved the house from 1936 to 1965. The Centennial House or the Britton-Evans House, is open to the public for tours in Corpus Christi, Texas. The collection also has the King Ranch presence in Australia. The King Ranch Pastoral Company bought the Brunette Downs Station lease in in 1958. The station has a reported area of 4,750 square miles. Charles Weiss introduced 1,200 Santa Gertrudis stud bulls to improve the stock in 1966. The Australian Agricultural Company acquired the lease in 1979.
Chet Downs was a successful oil man and started Dos Amigos Publishing Company. He loved South Texas History and was born in Falfurrias Texas in 1939 and died in 2016. His estate sale included an extensive King Ranch collection, King Ranch marked Winchester, King Ranch saddle and saddle blankets, marked chaps, and equipment, Texas Ranger badges and guns, and a collection of rare King Ranch photographs.
The collection’s digital files contain newspaper articles from the “Queensland County Life,” “Cheyenne Transporter,” “San Antonio Express,” “Galveston Daily News,” and the “Kingsville Record,” to name just a few. Years of the newspaper publications date from 1880 to 1980. Digital images of King Ranch’s sales catalogs, brochures, and publications chronicle the ranching and cattle breeding events in Australia and Texas. Photographs from these publications and additional photographs are included. Materials also include the history of several prominent families of South Texas including King, Kenedy, Bryden, Champman, Chamberlain, Griswold, and many others. Family materials include genealogical documents, church rolls, US census, marriage announcements, death announcements, correspondence, lawsuit materials, and land abstracts.
Arrangement Series I: Kenedy Family Sub-Series A: Mifflin Kenedy Sub-Series B: Elisha Kenedy Sub-Series C: Land Sub-Series D: Family Members Series II: King Family Sub-Series A: Richard King Sub-Series B: H.M. King Sub-Series C: Land Grants Sub-Series D: King Ranch Series III: King Ranch in Australia Sub-Series A: Newspapers - Queensland County Life, Australia Sub-Series B: Newspapers - Corpus Christi Caller Times Sub-Series C: Newspapers - Cheyenne Transporter Sub-Series D: Newspapers - Kingsville Record Sub-Series E: Various Newspapers Sub-Series F: Publications Series IV: Bryden Family Sub-Series A: James Bryden Genealogical Information Sub-Series B: Janet Bryden Genealogical Information Sub-Series C: Various Bryden Family Genealogical Information Sub-Series D: Centennial House Series V: Chamberlain Family Sub-Series A: Anna Adelia Chamberlain Sub-Series B: Bland Chamberlain Sub-Series C: Caroline Chamberlain (Griswold) Sub-Series D: Chamberlain Ancestors Sub-Series E: Edwin Chamberlain Sub-Series F: Hiram Chamberlain Sub-Series G: Hiram Chamberlain Jr Sub-Series H: Maria Morse Family Sub-Series I: Tiffany Windows Sub-Series J: William Chapman Chamberlain Series VI: Chapman Family Sub-Series A: Helen B Chapman Genealogical Information Sub-Series B: William Blair Chapman Genealogical Information Sub-Series C: William Warren Chapman Genealogical Information Sub-Series D: Jessie R. Chapman Genealogical Information Sub-Series E: General Chapman Family Information Sub-Series F: Chapman vs. King Ranch Inc Ligation Series VII: Chet Downs Series VIII: Griswold Family Sub-Series A: William Griswold Sub-Series B: Anna Griswold Sub-Series C: Sylvanus Griswold Sub-Series D: Hannah Griswold Sub-Series E: Aura Griswold Sub-Series F: Lester P. Griswold Sub-Series G: Jane Eliza Griswold Sub-Series H: Griswold Connecticut to Missouri Sub-Series I: Simsbury CT Sub-Series J: Milton Griswold Sub-Series K: Griswold Church Records 1630-1920 Series IX: Stillman Family Sub-Series A: Family Papers from Houghton Library Sub-Series B: Charles Stillman Sub-Series C: Stillman Family Members Series X: Walworth Family Series XI: Wardlaw Family Sub-Series A: Hugh H. Wardlaw Sub-Series B: Sarah H Wardlaw (Chamberlain) Sub-Series C: Mary C Boone Sub-Series D: Elizabeth Coulter Wardlaw Sub-Series E: Wardlaw Family Members Sub-Series F: William D Wardlaw Sub-Series G: Boone Family Series XII: “When Corpus Christi Was Young” Series XIII: Notes
South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Open for Research
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John Rollo’s Collective Research of South Texas Pioneer Ranching Families, A2015-081.XXXX; A2017-038.XXXX; A2018-014.XXXX
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A2015-081; A2017-038; A2018-014 – Gift of John Rollo
A2015-081 processed and finding aid created by Lori Atkins. A2017-038 processed and finding created by Daniel Thacker. A2018-014 processed and finding aid created by Matthew Tallant. EAD document created and uploaded to web by Lori Atkins.