Emmett CRAMER

                   Emmett Cramer was not born in the United States, he was born in the Western Territories.  Nebraska became a state on March 1, 1867.
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Emmett was living in Chicago, in 1894, when his father passed away, this is noted on his father's estate papers.     *****
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Emmett Cramer, father of Norma Howatt, was a cowboy, worked all over the mid west, cut ice on the Great Lakes.   Uncle Bus Cramer said grandpa told him that his mother was Indian.  Grandpa had a strong rapport with the Indians.  Aunt Edna told me that after Grandpa died, a young Indian man came to there house and asked to talk to Grandpa, and when he was told Mr. Cramer had passed away, the man got tears in his eyes.
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Bus said Grandpa's mother died when he was very young, his father married again, and his step mother was mean to him, and he left home when he was 7. Someone took him in and raised him, Their name was Thomas, but they were not relation to grandma's family.  (I have not found anything to support this idea, and since I have finally found information on the birth of John K Cramer, if it is correct information, I wonder if this could have been told about John K and Uncle Bus thought it was about Emmett.  July 26,   1998,  Karon)
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Grandpa had a hot temper, the kids were afraid of him.  He spent time in jail once or more, because of his temper.
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Penny said they lived in a sod house, and the house was apparently built onto, and Bus and Fern saw part of it when they went to Colorado. Grandpa and Emma's husband did the last roundup on open land, Emma's husband took the herd to sell, and was never heard of again.  Several have expressed the idea the brother in law, Castile, stole the herd, but Mom said they never knew if he did that or if rustlers killed him and stole the herd.  Mom, Norma, said she went by wagon, with her aunt, to Dodge City, trying
to find Emma's husband, or what happened to him, and they did not find out anything.     *****
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Edna said her dad was very critical of others, attributing wickedness to them, and Grandma Thomas ran a boarding house or hotel, and he said she ran a whore house.     *****
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As a point of interest, a connection with other things in history, I want to mention  Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, in Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth.    Alexander Graham Bell sent the first  clear telephone message in 1876.  The first Pony express ride was in 1860.  The American Association of the Red Cross was founded in 1881. The Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac was in 1862.    The Civil War began with shots fired on Fort Sumter in 1861, and surrender of confederate forces at Appomattox in 1865, so Emmett was born during the Civil war, whether he was born in 1863 or 1864.  There seems to be some question as to when he was born.     *****
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1899 A.D. First beet sugar refinery is built at Grand Junction.
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1900 A.D. Gold production reaches peak of more than $20,000,000 annually at Cripple Creek, the second richest gold camp in the world. Population of State, 539,700.
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1902 A.D. Constitutional amendment permits towns of 2,000 to adopt "Home Rule"; Denver becomes home rule city. Beet sugar refinery built at Fort Collins. David H. Moffat and associates begin  construction of Moffat Railroad over the Continental Divide. Completed to Steamboat Springs in
1980 and to Craig in 1913.
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1903 A.D. Mine, mill and smelter workers strike in many camps for higher wages and better working conditions; at Cripple Creek, strike results in much property damage and loss of life; all strike objectives in gold field are lost. Uncompahgre irrigation project, first federal government reclamation project in Colorado, is authorized.
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1905 A.D. Colorado has 3 governors in one day in a political squabble. First, Alva Adams, then James H. Peabody, and finally Jesse F. McDonald. Construction of the six mile Gunnison water tunnel started by Bureau of Reclamation.
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1906 A.D. United States Mint, Denver, issues first coins. March 12, National Western Stock Show is born with chartering of Western Stock Show Association following successful showing of about 60 head of cattle and horses and a few sheep and hogs in makeshift tent at Stockyards. July 29, Mesa Verde national Park is created by Congress.
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1907 A.D. With Ben B. Lindsey as Judge, Denver Juvenile Court opens - the first such court in the United States.
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1908 A.D. July 7, Denver municipal Auditorium, seating 12,500, is completed in time for the Democratic National Convention, when William Jennings Bryan was nominated the third time for President. August 1, Colorado Day is first celebrated, marking thirty-second anniversary of State's admittance to Union. Dome of the State Capitol is plated with gold leaf at a cost of $14,680.
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1909 A.D. Colorado attains first rank among states in irrigation area with 2,790,000 acres under irrigation. Gunnison water tunnel completed by Reclamation Service and opened, on September 23, by President William Howard Taft at the tunnel site. Western State Teachers College opens at Gunnison.
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1910 A.D. Population of State, 799,024. Number of farms, 46,170. Colorado voters adopt a constitutional amendment giving to the people the right of the initiative and referendum. May 8, first long distance phone call made from Denver to New York City. First airplane flight in Denver.
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1911 A.D. Colorado National Monument west of Grand Junction, created by Presidential order.
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1913 A.D. State Tax Commission created by Legislature. Assessed value of Colorado property for tax purposes set at $1,306,536,692. The "Big Snow of 1913" covers Colorado to a depth of 3 - 5 feet; transportation paralyzed for weeks. State begins licensing autos for the first time.
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1914 A.D. Strike of coal miners in southern Colorado fields is climaxed by "Battle of Ludlow" near Trinidad; several men, women and children killed during hostilities between miners and the State militia. August: WWI begins.
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1915 A.D. Worker's compensation measures are passed: State Industrial Commission is created.   Rocky Mountain National Park created by Congress. Toll road for auto travel to top of Pikes Peak built by Spencer Penrose. Construction of Broadmoor Hotel at Colorado Springs started.
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1916 A.D. Colorado adopts prohibition. Emily Griffith Opportunity School is opened in Denver.   Mining of tungsten causes flurry in Boulder-Nederland area.
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1917 A.D. April 6: Congress declares war on Germany and many Coloradans volunteer for service. Colorado reaches maximum mineral production, more then $80,000,000. William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Famous Indian scout, dies and is buried on Lookout Mountain, west of Denver.
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1918 A.D. Agricultural production increased sharply to aid war needs. Dry lands plowed up to produce wheat. Colorado citizens purchase Liberty Bonds by the millions of dollars to help finance war. More than 125,000 Colorado men register for the draft for army service. Fitzsimmons General Hospital established near Denver. Coal production of state reaches new high of 12,500,000 tons.  Impetus of war stirs development of mining of molybdenum at Climax, near Leadville - the nation's greatest source of
the metal. Denver Tourist Bureau establishes free auto camp ground for tourists at Overland Park, Denver. Other cities follow suit during the next few years. Federal Reserve branch bank established in Denver. Colorado voters approve constitutional amendment providing Civil Service for state employees. November, 11, 1918, Germany surrenders.     *****
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Grandpa Emmett Cramer was listed as a range stockman in the 1990 census, which meant "cowboy".  Here is a little information on cowboying at that time -
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Men Who Came From Kentucky and Tennessee to Settle Texas Were the First of the American Cowboys,  The growing population of the eastern United States in the mid-1800s created a market for beef.  The
construction of the western railroad provided the means of carrying the beef to the east. As a result, the cattle business began to flourish. Cattlemen raised stock and drove them great distances to the railheads. The men who tended and drove the cattle came to be known as cowboys and were as ethnicly diverse as the growing nation. With the increasing demand for beef, the cowboy's domain spread northward to Canada, and westward to the Rockies. The cowboy's life was often lonely and sometimes violent. His manners, dress, language, and amusements remain a symbol of the rugged independence and determination which characterized the American West.
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The Hard Life of the Cowhand:  The cowboy's life was often lonely, with only his sturdy mustang pony for companionship. The ranges were not fenced, and the cattle had to be watched constantly for fear they might stampede during a thunder storm or when threatened by a predator. Regular chores included cutting out calves for branding and in the earlier days of the range, fighting off the Indians who were protecting their hunting grounds from the white man's invasion.
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The Round-Up:    In the fall of each year the cattle were rounded up in preparation for the drive to market. The riding and  roping skills of the cowboy and the agility and "cow sense" of his horse were especially
important in the round-up.
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The Trail Drive to Market:    The pioneer cattleman, Charles Goodnight, was one of the first men to organize the cattle drive. He also invented the chuckwagon which served as the cowboy's trail kitchen. Camp life on the trail was often strictly regulated by the ranch owners. Charles Goodnight did not allow his cowboys to gamble, drink liquor, curse, or even play mumbletypeg on the drive. Little wonder that when the cowboy reached the end of the cattle drive and was paid, he often went wild and would squeeze six month's fun into a few days.
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The First Rodeo:    July 4, 1886 - Informal Sport of Cowboys Soon Became A Grand Event  Rodeo (Spanish for "cattle ring") began as an amusement among cowboys who had reached the end of the long cattle-drive and had to remain with their herds until they were sold. Given a few days of
freedom, it was not long before an empty cattle pen was appropriated and one cowhand challenged another to a calf-roping contest, or dared him to ride "the meanest horse between here and the Rio Grande.  " The popularity of these informal sports grew until the first rodeo with paid attendance was held in Prescott, Arizona, on July 4, 1886. At the turn of the century, rodeos combined with the popular "Wild West" show.  The events became extravaganzas, including wagon races, bull-riding and steer-wrestling. The Wild West Show soon fell from popularity, but its influences remained in the rodeo, which steadily grew in popularity throughout the western United States and Canada. In more elaborate rodeos, even the cooks got into the act by racing their chuckwagons. One of the most exciting events in the rodeo, bull dogging, was reputedly invented by a black cowboy named Bill Pickett.   Pickett became enraged at a bull which refused to enter a corral. He jumped on the bull from his horse, grabbed its horns and gripped its upper lip in his teeth, bringing it to the ground like a "bulldog." Today, there are
more than 800 formal rodeos held annually.     *****
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GENERAL HISTORY AND INFORMATION ON ROCKY FORD, COLORADO
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Rocky Ford, home of the famous cantaloupe, is located in the Arkansas River Valley. It is one of the most productive areas in the nation. It is located on U.S. Highway 50 near the Mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail.
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Christopher 'Kit' Carson, a famous frontiersman and Indian scout, often camped under the stars in what one day would become the world's most famous melon patch. His camp site was located near a rocky, graveled ford across the Arkansas River. The crossing, located twenty miles above Bent's Fort, was used by roving Indian tribes and wagon trains of the pioneers. Kit Carson gave the name Rocky Ford to the crossing. In 1870 Asahel Russell and George W. Swink built a trading post at the ford. When Swink
wasn't selling merchandise to the ranchers, he experimented with agriculture and irrigation. His watermelon crop in 1878 was bountiful, and he shared the melons with his neighbors. The present town site, 2 1/2 miles southeast of the ford, was platted April 12, 1887 on the AT & SF railroad. Senator G.W. Swink was the founding father of Rocky Ford, Colorado.
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Swink, the first mayor, started the first Watermelon Day celebration in 1878 when he stopped a Santa Fe Train and gave every passenger and  crewmen a melon. He developed the Rocky Ford cantaloupe through seed shipped from Massachusetts in the late 1890's. By 1900 these cantaloupes were being shipped by the carload to large Eastern and Southern markets. Through the years, the popularity of the Rocky Ford cantaloupe has been maintained. *****
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Grandpa Emmett Cramer liked to sing.  My mother often told me his favorite song was Strawberry Roan.  Aunt Edna says she remembers him singing The Streets of Laredo.  She said she can remember him singing the line "beat the drums slowly".
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At the Cramer Family reunion of June 13, 1988 in Yakima, we were fortunate to find pictures that were very old. Sandie Kitchen, (great granddaughter of Orestes Cramer) brought a very old family album, with
pictures of the family of Orestes Cramer and his descendents, and May Cramer brought out a very old family album of the Emmett Cramer family, and we were fortunate to be able to copy pictures of John K Cramer, sons of John, a daughter of John, and the family of Emmett, and of Orestes, to share with everyone who wanted a copy.  Penny Cramer Schmidt had shared pictures to be copied with me, and they were there to be shared to.  It was a very enjoyable time, meeting distant cousins, and seeing the old pictures, and having great food and fellowship.  **
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