A cattle baron who moved longhorn herds from Texas into New Mexico in the mid-1800s, Chisum would work with Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving, found one of the largest cattle ranches in the American West, and become involved in New Mexico’s Lincoln County War.
Born in Hardeman County, Tennessee, on August 15, 1824, Chisum’s family moved to Texas in 1837, where the teenager soon found work as a building contractor. Later, he would serve as the County Clerk in Lamar County.
In 1854, Chisum moved to Denton County, where he settled on Clear Creek, three miles above the town of Bolivar. He soon went to work for a prominent rancher as a cowboy and started to develop his own herd. During this time, Chisum purchased a mulatto slave girl named Jensie from some emigrants bound for California. The girl was just 15 years old and beautiful, and Chisum began a love affair with her. The couple had two daughters.