Tribute To My Great Aunt
Ellen Liddy Watson

Picture of Ellen at age 18, with her first husband, William A Pickell, taken sometime after their wedding in Smith County, Kansas in 1879.

Ellen in front of her corral in 1887 in Wyoming.

Corral as it looks today on the Pathfinder Ranch in Wyoming.

Ellen Watson

Ellen's cabin on her homestead, near the Sweetwater River on Horse Creek in Wyoming.

Ellen's portrait taken in Rawlins, Wyoming in a studio around 1888.

Ellen's moccasins, she purchased from the Indians and wore on the same day she was lynched.

This Red Rose will always remind us of who she once was.
It will always continue to open to show her Family's love for her.

Lynch tree on July 20, 1889

Lynch tree on July 20, 1989


Let this eternal flame remind us of her memory, by keeping it alive and never forgetting the tragic events on that fateful day on July 20, 1889, near the Sweetwater River in Wyoming.

Thomas and Frances Watson. Ellen's Parents.

The Brothers and Sisters of Ellen Watson with Their Mother, Frances Watson, Seated.

We planned a Watson Family Reunion with the nieces and nephews of Ellen Watson on July 19, 20, 21, 1989 in Casper, Wyoming. A few days before the reunion, Art Randall and I placed the grave marker at the location with the help of my son Scott.

We had a ceremony at the local Fort Casper Museum on Friday July 19th. We went through the museum that had some of her artifacts, her sewing machine and moccasins, and her cupboard she used.(I have her sewing machine today.)

The researchers told what they knew of my great aunt and the events that led up to her hanging.

I did a small speech too.

On Saturday, July 20th, we went on a trip into the country to see where she used to have a homestead. It's located on the Pathfinder Ranch lands.

We ate a catered in lunch on the site of Ellen’s homestead. This is the site where the Pathfinder’s ranch house stands on today. The corral she built is still standing and they still use it,

in addition to her ditches she dug to irrigate her land. We dedicated a marker for her grave. We had several in attendance at the dedication.

It was mainly opened to the family of Ellen Watson, her nieces and nephews. A representative from the Bureau of Land Management was our guest speaker. I did a little speaking myself.

I had my cousin Elva Belle, who was Ellen's niece, unveil the grave marker.

We had five of Ellen’s nieces there at the dedication and reunion, whose parents were either Ellen's brother or sister. It was hot that day...just like it was 100 years ago. About 100 degrees or so. We went to her hanging sight and saw the tree she was hung on. We had to walk over half a mile to get to the hanging site. The tree is dead today, but the scenery and landmarks are still the same today.

Its near the Sweetwater River. She was hung in Pine Canyon just off of Spring gulch.

This dedication of her grave marker was a healing for the Watson family. The incident with Ellen caused a black mark on the family for over 100 years. Her name could never be mentioned among her siblings. Her father forbids it after he came back from the inquest in Wyoming. He did it to protect his family from the Cattlemen that hung his daughter, because they threatened his own life before he left Wyoming. He was afraid that they would harm his other children if they talked about her and it got back to them. So her name was never mentioned again after her untimely death.

May She Rest In Eternal Peace Now!!

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Click on Button to read a couple of poems written about my Great Aunt.


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Table of Contents

Index

Click here to read about my Younger Years
Click here to read about My Other Siblings
Click here to read about finding my missing brother.
Click here to read about My Family
Click here to read a poem my wife wrote to my sons.
Click here to read a poem that was written about when I went into the Marines.
Click here to read about my Years in the Marines
Click here to read about my time in Nam
Click here to read about A Missing Marine...My adopted POW/MIA
Click here to read about My Tribute To My Fallen Comrades
Click here to see My Personally Favorite Links
Click here to read about My Marine Reunions and a few other travels
Click here to read about what I do for Fun
Click here to read about my early days in Page, Arizona.
Click here to read about my favorite webrings.

Read the Book 'The Wyoming Lynching of Cattle Kate, 1889' by George W. Hufsmith.

The Lynching Of My Great Aunt
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Copyright Dan Brumbaugh (c)1998-2005
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