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Redfield, Georgia B.
MARTIN V. CORN
Words, 1.830
6/10/58
rounder of Largest Family of Chaves County
Planted Trees of Lovers' Lap*
Pat Garrett Billy the Kid 011inger Bell
Martin V. Corn, and his wife and seven Children came to the Territory
of New Mexico in 18TO. They came in a covered wagon caravan with seven
other stoskmen and their families.
The men of the caravan who shared the expenses and responsibilities
of the journey, were Bill and Ed Hudson, Bill Hollomane Lon Spencer, Ike
Teeters, and a man by the name of Horn who drove the cattle and was leader
of the caravan.
Mille it was a long tiresome journey across the dry treeless plains
and especially trying on the women, there were camp Pleasures shared by
all members of the caravan in freluent stops, and around camp fires in
the cool of the evenings, then they would tell stories of adventure and
sing rollicking songs and hymns. The children played games and explored
around, 1-ut never ventured fir from sight of the men who were prepared
to protect their families with six shooters mnd Winchesters kept loaded and
close at hand in case of sudden attack by hostile Indians.
Ihiln oter stockmen lost entire herds, that were driven away by the
Indians, and even teams used by some travelers for their ins were stolen,
the caravan of Which Mr. Corn rae a member, lost nothing, because e their
preparedness against attaok.
Children or Mr. Corn's now grown and heals of families, tell Inter
eating stories of incidents of that caravan journey. At the beginning
of the never -to -be -forgotten trip they had their first tin -type pictures
taken, and at the end, reimdy overtook them after they made camp at old
SOTOR Rivers, Nearly ell the men had gone on to Roswell mad Lincoln pros-
pecting, when the man left in charge got in a quarrel and Ike Teeters was
killed by one of the Hudson brothers *hid' caused much excitement and
furnished a victim for the widely known 'Boot Cemetery' at Seven Rivers
Where many murdered men were buried with boots on.
Vt. Corn on arriving at -South_ Spring five miles southeast of
Roswell was favorably impressed with that section of the country as being
What he desired for stock reining, '5nd farming.
John Chisum had established the Jingle Bob Randle at the head of South
Sprine River and had built a confortsble twelve room adobe home. Between
fifteen and twenty thousand head of Chisum cattle, marked with the dangling
ear bob, roeur.ed the unfencad pining for hundreds of miles, and fed on fine
grazing lands of the Pecos River Valley.
Roawell then, with its two adobe buildings, the store and hotel, both
owned by Captain Ieseph C. Lea, was no more inviting than the country
around South Sprin- where Mr. Corn decided to remain.
Re took out homestead end timber cultere claims, just north of the
Chtsun holdings, and later bought edjotnin land, making Vi4 acres in ORO
tract,
.During the fall of 1,70 Mr. Corn, A. 0. 3piaer, Bill. Hollomen„ and
:MAO R. Hampton took out the 01:1 Taxes IrriF tion Ditch from South
Spring River, below the Chisun Randh. The irrigsIted soil proved very
peadective.
In 1890 John Chi um went to Mr. Corn one day, and said3 "Corn
make you a proposition, if you will set out trees along your ditch /.11 get
the trees, for we need them for Shade on these hot dry plains."
Mr. Chisum, on securing Mr. Corn's agreement to his proposition, neat two
ox wagons to Alpine, Texas, in the Davis Mountainele and got the cottonwood
and willow trees. Mr. Corn set them out on the south aide of the lane and
Oregon Pell on the north side, on land he owned and afterwards sold to John
M. Roe and is now L. F. P. Renthe of the 7. P. rhite eatate. The trees
grew and Re. Corn and Ills daughter Very and their old dark)' servant call.
ad *Nigger Dick", oared for them and set out pranings until the beautiful
lane extended for over a milt, from eat to west, and has been a beauty
spot and fmvorite drive for young people, especially lovers, for nearly
sixty years.
It vas told by 3. P. White just before his death, that of all the
thousands of cattle he drove through the lane, not on ever injured the
treer that were so carefully tended end watched by the Corn family.
After John W. Poe introduced and eucceesfully raieed alfalfa in the
valley Mr. Corn procured seed and soon there were wide green fields grow—
ing on the south side of 'Lovers Lane*. One of the first apple orchards
was else planted on 20 acree and flret prizes and blue ribbons were
*larded Mr. Corn on all the early dieolaye of pioneer farm, garden, a:el
orcherd crops.
Three hundred head of wattle and a hundred head of horses brought
from Texas by hi, muliplied end grew ft an the rine grazing lands. Re
loved horses. The nolendid
reeled "Bl....;;Lttt. JAN for Mr. Corn was ame
he sold to Pat Curett and was used by tU.Y;slaw when he *hot 0Alinger
end ha and made his esospe from jail in Lincoln *here he was held for
execution for the murder of Sheriff Brady. Pat Garrett contracted to
make the adobe and walls for the Corn hone ehich is still stancEng, and
can be seen just south of Lovers Lane. rhile the family waited for the bone
to be built Mr. and .Ira. Corn and the seven children lived in a dugout and
anik tent. For a while they lived in a sod house on the banks of the creek
(South Spring River)
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In 1881 the Corn Children attended school in the first adobe school
building three miles east of Roswell on East Second Street which was taught
by Asbury C. Rogers. They afterwards attended the school taught by Miss
Sara Lund (now Mrs. C. D. Bonney) who was teacher in the larger balding
built in r15, a half a mile southeast of Roswell.
In 1893 Mr. Corn sold his 384 acres farm to J. J. Haeerman and in 1894
he established the ranche home "Eden Valley* twenty miles north of Rdoswell,
*here he spent the last years of his life, and *here after his deathett the
age of seventy—six years, he was buried, as he had requested.
Mt. Corn was born in North Carolina. rhen he was a small child he
moved with his parents to Kerr County, Texas *here he was educated and on
April 2E, 1887 was married to Mary Jane Hampton.
Tte children born to this marriage were: Zelpha (decased), Mary, Nanty
(deceased!), Eva, and Sally, and four boys, John Robert, Mart, and George
(now deceased) who wae born in New Mexico.
Mt. Corn after the death of his flret wife, Mary Hampton Corn, was
married on October 14, 1888 to Julia McVicker.
The children born of this second marriage were three girls and eight
bops, namely: Minnie, May, and Lillian, awl Weld, Lee, Charlie, Jess, Roe,
He, Poe, an. Clarence, making nineteen in all. There waE one etepeeon Jim
Hempton (deceased), son of Mary (Hampton) Own, who was raised as one of the
family of Corn childrem.
Jahn R., Robert L., Martin V., and Georee, eons of Mr. Corn, all es—
tablished and developed large ranches and other sheep and cattle ranches are
scattered over hundreds of milem e Southeast New Mexico.
It is a ndine joke among the Corn men that no matter how high an
education any of them have received for a professional career, they all
return to ranche life in the end.
The family has multiplied rapidly, and hastery materially increased
the population of this section of New Mexico.
In the outstanding event: Old Timers' Parade of Eastern New Mexico
Stat. Fair, the Corn family im always largely represented in the interest-
ing section of "Crops Raised in New Mexico".
Considering the conceded fact that, *Martin V. Corn was the founder
of the largest family of worthy and respected citiaens of which Chaves
County can boast*, and that they have proved'inportant factors in the pro-
gresa f,nd development of Roswell and the Pecos Valley it is fitting that
all names of the grandchildren and great grandchildren as well an those
of the children be given here. They are listed below:
The grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary (Hampton) Corn- Children of
Mary Elisabeth Corn (Mrs. Fd Hudson) are: Archie, Steve, Crrl (deceased),
Edna (deseased), Hildred, Resale, James, Lulu, and Martin.
Great grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary (Hampton) Corn Children of
airc3".ie: Evelyn, Elizabeth, Margaret, fillis, Mildred, Clayton, Norma, and
Well. Children of Steve: Lester and Merritt. Children of Carl: One son,
F-1rold. Children of Edna: Donald and Wilma. Children of James: one girl,
Lose. Children of Lulu: Jack and Barbara. Children of Martin: Lera and
Lela (twins) and a boy, Leon.
Groat great grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary (Hampton) Corn Great
grandhhildren of Mary Elisabeth Hudson: Childre, of Evelyn: Gerald, James,
Laurel, and Clyde. Children or Elizabeth: Dunward and Charles.
Grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Vary (Hampton) Corn Children of Minty
Corn (Mrs. Charles Ballard) are Syble, Mabel, Willie %ck (Deceased), Theo-
dore, Jack and Katherine.
Great grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary (Hampton) Corn Children of
3y -le; one girl, Irene. Children of Mabel: one girl, Christina. Children
of Theodore: one boy, Theodore Jr. Children of Katherine: one girl, Patsy.
Groat great grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary (Hampton) Corn Great
i;readchildren of Minty Corn Ballard: Children of Irene: one son, Norman.
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Children of John Roland Corn: Ester and Pauline.
Grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary (Hampton) Corn Children of Robert
Layfayette and Maggie (Bowden) Corn: ?red, Fayette (deceased), Richard,
Irwin, Alton, and Ronald and Donald (twins).
Great grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary (Hampton) Corn Grandchildren
of Robert Lafayette and Maggie (Bowden) Corn. Children of Fred: Reune,
Robert, Fred Jr., and Billy. Children of Richard are: Dick and Marlene.
Children of Irwin: one girl, Barbra. Children of Alton: Graha and
Marilyn.
Grandchildren of Mr. Corn end Mary (Hampton) Corn. Children of Martin
Jr., and Myrtle (Stewart) Corn: Earl, Hazel, and Ted (deceased). Great
Grandchildren Children of Earl: Elinor Jean, and Katherine. Children of
Eva Corn (Mrs. Will Morrow are: Rosanne, Carson, Ralph, Chester, Roy ;ohs,
Kitty (deceased), Dorothy, and Mary.
Great great grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Mary(Hampton) Corn Grand-
children of Eva Corn Morrow, Children of Rosanne: William, Evelyn, Sammy,
and Eugene. Children of Carson: Pearl and Hazel, Children of Ralph:
Audrey and Wayne. Children of Chester: one boy Arthur. Children of Roy
(deoemled) three, Betty, June, and Maxene. Children of Dorothyl: one girl,
Nancy Lee. Children of Mary, one boy, Robert. Children of Sally Corn Pear-
son (Mrs. Will Pearson) one boy named Lilliard. George born after naming
to New Mexico had two children, Lola and Curtis and one grandchild, Lola
Nell.
Grandchildren of Mr. Corn and Julia (McVicker) Corn, Children of Minnie
Corn (Mrs. Walker Snyder): Elisabeth, Frank, and Earl. Children of May
Corn (Mrs. C. A. Marley): Inez (deceased) and Clyde. Children of Ines,
one boy Bert. Children of Clyde, Francis Kay and Robert.
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Children of Raid and Grace (Garrett) Corn: Clark Garrett (deceased), Waid Jr.,
and Billy. Children of tee and Alice (Alexander) Corns Martin and Herold.
Children of Charlie and Dorothy (Gifford) Corns One daughter, Sandrn.. Children
of Jess and Ruth (Ruff) Corns Laura Ruth, and Bronson. Children of Clarence
and Dora (Richardson) Corns one boy, Edwin. Children of Poe end Margery
(Rollins) Corn: Betty Zane, and Rollins. Children of Jim Rampton (Stepaou
of Mr. Corn, son of Mary Hampton Corn) r4nd Ella (Meek) Corns one daughter
purr. Children of Burr: one daughter Fay Jeanette.
Sources of Information
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Corn Roswell, New Mexico
Mrs. May (Corn) Marley Roswell, New Mixico
Lucius Dills Roswell New Mexico