Bessie Ethyl (Adams) Robert and the
Connection with the Chisum Family

I want to continue writing about Bessie Ethyl Bess Adams and the family’s connection to the famous Chisum Family today. As we know from my last article, Bess’ marriage united two of the most famous cattle families in New Mexico, the Chisum and Robert families. We learned more about William Robert and his son John Robert in the last article, but now we need to learn more about Sallie (Chisum) Robert, wife of William and mother of John E. Robert.

William Robert and John Chisum were involved in business and cattle ranching operations in east central New Mexico from the 1870s until John Chisums death in 1884. After that time, William Robert continued to deal in and raise cattle in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Sallie Lucy Chisum was the niece of John Chisum. She was the daughter of James and Josephine (Wright) Chisum and was born May 26, 1858 in Texas, where she remained until moving to South Springs Ranch in New Mexico in December 1877. Her mother and sister had already died before she left Texas.

Once installed as the hostess of South Springs Ranch, Sallie was much admired by all of the cowboys, even the infamous Billie the Kid who was a member of The Regulators, a vigilante group that tried to end the Lincoln County War. The South Springs Ranch House was made of both frame and adobe components and was very horizontal with four large rooms on either side of an acequia, a
feature with running water.

John Chisum is said to have had as many as 80,000 cattle grazing on the Pecos River, mostly on public lands. In the days before fences and private land ownership, cattlemen could pretty much graze as much land as they could control. Chisums grazing area along the Pecos was much coveted because it had good, year-around water for livestock.

Sallie Chisum was courted by the rich, famous and infamous, but finally chose William Robert, a European born gentleman, who had had the finest education of the time and was a member of a wealthy banking family in Germany. William had come to America to make his fortune, first stopping in St. Louis, and then moving west to become involved in buying and selling cattle. Sallie Chisum and William Robert were married on January 26, 1880 in Chico Anton, New Mexico.

After their marriage, they returned to the South Spring Ranch, where William Robert became the bookkeeper and advisor for John Chisum. John Chisum was never really involved in day to day management of his vast domain and cattle, but instead preferred to travel finding Eastern markets for his cattle and buying new herds to move to New Mexico. William Robert had become a trusted ally. He and Sallie Robert were pretty much responsible for operations at South Springs Ranch according to historic documents.

Three sons were born to their marriage. Reinhardt Robert was their first born and died at birth in 1880. Sons John Robert and Frederick Thomas were born in 1881 and 1884 respectfully.

The Robert family lived at South Springs until their separation in 1890. Apparently, the Robert sons did not live with their mother all of the time, but instead spent much of their time with their father, who became part-owner of a large cattle ranch along the Cimmarron River in both Kansas and Oklahoma. That ranch is still owned by the descendants of John E. and Bessie E. (Adams) Robert.

John Robert and Frederick were sent to boarding schools in Hutchison, Kansas and were then sent to German boarding schools for classical higher learning. In researching the family, I found passport applications and ship boarding and disembarking lists for both during the early 1900s. It isnt very likely that Sallie Chisum spent much time at Roberts Kansas/Oklahoma ranching operations. I also found at least two ship boardings and departures in the early 1900s when both John E. and Sallie (Chisum) Robert accompanied the boys to Europe, although they were legally divorced.

Sallie Chisum married a second time to Baldwin Stegman, who had a New Mexico town named in his honor after their marriage. Sallie (Chisum) Stegman was named the first post master of the new town. Stegman, New Mexico was renamed Artesia, New Mexico after the first artesian well in the area was drilled successfully on property that Sallie (Chisum) Stegman owned. They were later divorced and Sallie legally took back the name Robert.

Sallie Chisum became a respected businesswoman, realtor and rancher in her own right. She was much beloved by the people of Artesia, and spent much time with area children assisting with their education. Sallie Chisum later moved to Roswell, New Mexico where she continued to be a illuminating personality. She died in Roswell, New Mexico on September 12, 1934.

Today, there is are large bronze statues honoring the lives of John Chisum and his niece Sallie (Chisum) Robert. The John Chisum statue is located in Roswell, New Mexico and the Sallie (Chisum) Robert statue in Artesia, New Mexico.

In conducting the family research, I did find that Sallie Robert apparently helped raise her grandson, William Lee Robert, son of Frederick Fred T. Robert. He is listed as living with Sallie on three US Census reports after 1920.

Growing up in Maple Hill, Kansas where several members of the Robert Family lived, I never heard about the connection to the Chisum Family. I find it fascinating as Im hoping our readers will. If you want to learn more, there have been numerous books written about family members, and also several movies and TV series. Just Google any of the names in this report and you’ll find ample opportunity to learn more.

Photo One – John Chism
Photo Two – John Chisum and the South Springs Ranch House
Photo Three – The South Springs Ranch House
Photo Four – The John Chisum Statue in Roswell, NM
Photo Five and Six – Sallie (Chisum) Robert
Photo Seven – Sallie (Chisum) Robert statue in Artesia, NM