Lucy Alberta Collett Laney Elder

Lucy Alberta Collett Laney Elder

I first met Alberta at church. She and her husband had just moved into town from Gila. I was impressed right away with this bright, friendly, interesting and interested woman. Even though she is an older woman, she still takes an active interest in life and in everyone she meets. I found her to be a friend in just a short time, in spite of an age difference of over forty years.

Alberta and I had the opportunity to ride to Mesa, Arizona, together one day, and I asked if she would mind if we went by way of Mule Creek, over the mountain which is, in my opinion, the most scenic route between here and Mesa. She said that would be fine. As we started our trip, I had no idea that I was taking her through country that she knew and loved. Soon, however, she began to tell me about things that had happened at various points along the way and I realized that this area we were traveling through had been her home from the time she was a child until she was married.

The idea to do a research paper about Alberta Collett Laney Elder and the area she grew up in, grew out of my own love for both – for Alberta because she is a special friend and an example of what I’d like to be at 83, and for the country because of its peaceful mountain beauty.

Sometime during the French Revolution (1789-1799), Alberta’s paternal third great-grandfather came to America. He had been an official in the French government and in order to escape being beheaded, was smuggled out of France. The Collett family eventually grew and spread out, some going to Pennsylvania and others settling in North Carolina. Alberta’s grandfather was from the branch of the family in North Carolina.

After the Civil War, life changed drastically for the Colletts. The war meant the end of slavery, and seeing no way to adjust to this new way of life, Alberta’s grandfather divided up his large plantation among his fourteen families of slaves, loaded up his family and all of the furniture they owned and headed west. The trip from North Carolina to Pottsville, Texas, took two years. In Pottsville the family built a two-story home and furnished it with the pre-Civil War furniture they had brought with them. In 1964 that house with its original furnishings was still standing. The family eventually included eleven children of which Alberta’s father, John Hugh Collett, was the youngest.

The lure of the west brought John Hugh Collett to New Mexico in the 1890’s. He joined a cattle drive in Texas and ended up near Deming, or perhaps a bit northeast of there. He was 39 years old when he met Alberta’s mother, Martha Jane Nelson.

Martha Jane’s family originated in Fifershire, Scotland. Her father (Alberta’s grandfather), was Lord Edward Banks Nelson. In the mid-1800’s he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and upon doing so, was stripped of his lordship. At that time he was also disowned by his family. He and his wife were determined to remain faithful in their new religion and decided to move to America and on to Utah to join with other members of their church.

The ocean voyage was long and difficult for the young family. It was a five month trip and during this time one of their three little girls died. Unwilling to bury her daughter at sea, the grieving mother wrapped the child in blankets and carried her around for three days before the situation was discovered and she was forced to let the body be taken care of.

The ship landed at Maryland, and the Nelson family made its way across the plains to Utah. Along the way another baby girl was born but she too died and was buried along the trail. Alberta’s mother, Martha Jane, was born after the family had settled in Utah.

After a number of years, Edward was asked to return to Scotland to serve a mission for the LDS Church. This he did, and while in Scotland he was honored at a huge banquet given by the House of Fifershire. Hearts had softened and his former title of Lord Edward Banks Nelson was restored to him. His family also retracted their earlier disapproval and family ties were re-established. He was happy to be able to baptize a number of the members of the House of Fifershire and also several family members into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A tablecloth that was used at that banquet was brought home by her father and was a treasured possession of Alberta’s until several years ago when it was lost.

In the early 1890’s, the Nelson family moved from Vernal, Utah, to the Deming area. Martha was married, had three daughters and then lost her husband to smallpox. In 1895, when she was about 30, she met and married John Hugh Collett at Deming, New Mexico. Their family increased until they had six children of their own. Their children were: John Hugh, Jr., Martha Jane, Edward James, Mildred Della, Lucy Alberta, and Arthur Hamilton. Lucy Alberta is the last surviving member of the family.

John and Martha lived in Garfield, New Mexico, in a little house near an arroyo just below the newly-built Elephant Butte Dam. It bothered Jon to live below the dam and he and Martha set out in their buggy to find a ranch somewhere else that they could buy. They heard of one called the Big Lue that was for sale about 12 miles east of Mule Creek, New Mexico, just over the Arizona line. They bought it and moved in April of 1914. One day after they moved out, their former home was destroyed when a flood raged down the arroyo. John’s fears had been realized but he and his family had escaped without loss.

BACKGROUND OF THE BIG LUE RANCH

Research concerning the history of the Big Lue Ranch has exposed some discrepancies. One source gave the following information under the heading “Big Lue Canyon:”

“Eugene Johnson owned the ranch holding which he sold to Abe and Dick Boyles (c. 1906). Johnson was in the area at least by 1884. His brand was ‘LUE’ and the name of the ranch, The Big Lue Ranch, derived from this. The Boyles in turn sold the ranch in 1911 to Bud Stacey. ‘Stuttering Charlie’ Johnson settled in Johnson Canyon on the lower Blue River in 1886. He had been a Texas Ranger, and then a cattleman at Silver City, New Mexico. His first brand on the Blue was ‘333,’ but later he used the ‘LUE’ brand.

A review of records at the Greenlee County, Arizona, courthouse in Clifton by this author showed nothing concerning any of the above transactions. The property is in that county and the sale of property should have been recorded there, but nothing could be found.

The origin of the name “Big Lue” is also vague. Granger suggests that the name was a brand used by Johnson. Information from Alberta suggests that “Big Lue” was the man who sold the ranch to her father. The US Forest Service maps list the names “Big Lue Mountains” and also label the ranch “Old Collett.” There was no listing found or reference to the Big Lue in the WNMU Library, Silver City Public Library, Eastern Arizona College Library, Morenci Library, nor in the historical file at the Silver City Museum. Alberta was told that the Big Lue was homesteading property, hoping to get a deed later on. There was no deed on it when her father went to buy it.

There are several references to outlaw activity in the area. Black Jack Ketchem was a notorious bandit and the head of an outlaw band that roamed the area in the 1890’s. Crimes are attributed to him and his band in many counties throughout Arizona and New Mexico. Black Jack’s real name was Thomas E. Ketchem. He was a son of a Texas physician. Tom left his home and worked cattle in the Pecos Valley in the 1870’s. His brother Sam joined him and the band of outlaws grew to include Will Carver, Dale Atkins, Red Pipkin, Jack Rollins, Bob Hayes, Ed Bullin, William Walters and Ezra Lay. They started out robbing and killing and later decided to rob trains. In between crimes they hired on as cowboys on the Diamond A and other ranches near Deming and Lordsburg. The gang robbed their first train September 3, 1897, and then centered their operations along the eastern line of Arizona. During this time one of their favorite hideouts was in the area of the Big Lue Ranch. Several physical features in the area bear the name of Black Jack – Black Jack Spring, Black Jack Canyon, Black Jack Mesa. From these hideouts the robbers attacked the train at Steins, New Mexico, twice.

Local ranchers were reluctant to help in the fight against these outlaws because of the threat to their own property, and even to their lives, if the outlaws knew they were helping the sheriffs. One cowboy, James McCauley, refused to guide a posse for the Deputy Marshal George Scarborough, stating that if he did so his “time would soon be up.” Black Jack was finally caught after a train robbery near Clayton, New Mexico, and was hanged on April 26, 1901, in Clayton. His conviction and execution ended a reign of terror that had lasted several years in the Southwest.

(Back to the story)

The ranch was bought by him for 30 head of cattle, 12 head of horses and a small amount of money. In 1914 he filed for the homestead and finished proving up on it. The family settled in their new location in April of 1914 when Alberta was nine years old. Of the ranch, Alberta said, “It was beautiful – beautiful landscaped country, mountains all around, pines, everything was just beautiful.” The buildings that were on the property included a small log cabin with a large fireplace and portholes apparently used by the outlaws to defend themselves and another small rock house. Alberta adds, “It had portholes in it too, but father fixed it up and he’d smoke all the hams, bacon and sausage.” John and his sons soon built a small frame house for the family that was warm and comfortable.

The ranch was isolated. It was 26 miles from the ranch to Clifton, 21 miles the other direction to the tiny settlement at Jackson where they picked up their mail. Jackson didn’t amount to much. One source described Jackson as a former trading point at the junction of US 260 and New Mexico State 78, 50 miles northwest of Silver City, 8 miles from the Catron County line, post office 1913-1916. There were no roads into the ranch. Anyone or anything that came to the ranch came on foot or by horseback, but the Collett family never felt isolated. Since the Big Lue was a halfway point for people headed from Silver City to Clifton or Duncan, there were always people passing through and they often stayed the night with the Colletts. In the summer aunts, uncles and cousins from Phoenix would come to the ranch to escape the heat and would stay for three or four months. The old log house was used as a guest house during these visits. These were fun and exciting times for the Collett children. According to Alberta, they never felt isolated. “People came to us. We were very isolated until the road come through, in a way, and yet the way my mother and father taught us and the way the teachers taught us, the company we had and so much of it, was a valuable educational program.” It was not until the year of Alberta’s 17th birthday in 1922 that a road was built through the area.

Education was a priority with Alberta’s parents. In order to provide for the educational needs of the family, her parents, with the assistance of the Board of Education at Clifton, hired a teacher to come stay at the ranch and teach the children. Miss Regina Marie Brady from Baltimore, Maryland, became their first teacher. She as an old maid 36 or 37 years old, and had taught school in Baltimore for 18 years. When she arrived she brought a large trunk (which Alberta still has) that had to be brought in on horseback. She, of course, also came on horseback, and being unaccustomed to horses, she thought that the horse would chose its path through the trees and brush carefully, but found out otherwise when she was almost knocked off the horse by branches.

The old log house was transformed into a schoolhouse. It was very adequate for their needs. It had a big fireplace in it that Alberta loved.

“Can you imagine a group of children going to school in a little log house with portholes all up, where the bandits and outlaws shot at each other, I guess? We went to that school. I regret that I can’t go there and find it anymore because they tore it down. But we preserved that old log cabin as a part of our own heritage. The outlaws hid there, then my father moved in with his family and transformed it from a place for bandits and outlaws … into a lovely home.”

Alberta loved Miss Brady. She feels that her education could not have been better than what she received there at the ranch. “In all my education I have never found anyone that was the teacher that she was. I mean she was a fantastic teacher, and not only a teacher but (she was a devout Catholic), and she would tell us the stories about the cathedrals and the opera houses. She made us feel that we were right there. She brought everything so real and nice to us. She set a good standard for us there.”

Miss Brady took a trip each summer – one year to China, another to Australia, and then after teaching at the ranch for three years, she took her summer trip to Hawaii and decided that was the perfect place to live. She stayed there rather than returning to teach at the ranch. “When she left she left us a heritage – a real heritage. A heritage of what it’s like to live in the city. A heritage of what it’s like to hear an opera. A heritage of what it’s like to hear great musical wonders … she left that with me and I treasure it to this day.”

Alberta felt that they would never find another great teacher, but Urma Jo Overman turned out to be such a teacher. She was from Topeka, Kansas, and stayed at the ranch for two years. The children loved to hear their teacher read and spent nearly every evening listening as she read great literature aloud. Miss Overman especially liked “Hiawatha” and periodically she would stop and have the children memorize lines from it. Alberta can still recite much of it because, “when she taught you, you remembered it.” They also enjoyed Shakespeare, A Tale of Two Cities, and the works of Hawthorne.

One summer Miss Overman’s sister, Edith, came to stay with them. For the 4th of July, Alberta, Urma Jo, and Edith rode to Clifton to enjoy the celebration there. On the way home when they got to Black Jack Mesa, Edith’s horse gave out. For a while she rode with Alberta and they led the tired horse, but then Erma’s horse gave out, and the three couldn’t ride just one horse. They took the saddles off and staked the horses and sat down to wait for the horses to rest. Coyotes began to howl as it got dark and Edith was scared to death. Urma was somewhat used to hearing them by then, but Edith was sure they were in grave danger. Much to Edith’s relief, when the moon came up, the three continued on their way home.

Alberta considers Urma to have been “a woman of good integrity and refinement … She transferred every good quality she had to the children. I owe a lot to Miss Brady and Miss Overman.”

The Colletts were quite self-sufficient on their ranch. John cleared land for cultivation and grew a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. “He raised everything. He had plenty of cultivated land. He had plenty of pigs and he had plenty of cattle, plenty of chickens, so he raised everything but sugar and flour and salt and pepper, almost!”

The pigs were an interesting feature of the ranch. John Collett wanted to bring a hundred of them to the ranch to use for food and as a protection from rattlesnakes. Apparently pigs will kill snakes. John went to the bank to arrange for a loan. According to Alberta, the bank did not require her father to sign a note for the $100. The banker said, “John Collett, you’re the most honest man I ever knew.” John bought the 100 pigs for $100 and brought them to the ranch. Some he sold, some he kept in pens for their own use and many he turned loose in the forest. He repaid the bank with profits from pig sales.

Recreation was also a part of life on the ranch. In addition to reading and horseback riding, the family enjoyed hiking, picnicking, games in the yard, and singing, although they had no accompaniment. They often popped corn or used the sorghum molasses her father made from sugar cane he crew to make taffy. Taffy pulls were a favorite pastime for Alberta and her friends when they were teenagers.

When Alberta was sixteen she had to go away to go to school in Ajo every winter. She enjoyed being away at school, but her “fondest memory is the way that we lived, it’s the standards that my mother and father set before us and the way that people just loved my father and mother.”

With special permission, Alberta was able to complete all of the requirements for graduation from high school in three years. When she finished in 1923, she went to the superintendent and received a teaching certificate and returned to the ranch and took over the responsibilities of teaching school in the same log cabin she had attended in her earlier years. She taught there for two years and “just loved teaching.” She then went to work as an assistant to Mr. Frank Siefert who was grocery buyer for the store in Clifton. On February 6, 1928, she married a young man she met in Clifton, Vernon Jesse Laney. She and Vernon had four children, three of whom lived to adulthood. Vernon got sick in about 1959 and was in very poor health until his death on October 9, 1979. Alberta later married Amel Elder on January 16, 1982. He died in September, 1987. In 1936 John Collett sold the Big Lue to Clarence Martin, who later sold it to Mosby and Lilly Belle Wilkerson. The Wilkerson family still owns the property.

Although Alberta has been away from the ranch for over 60 years, the years spent there and the lessons learned there have influenced her throughout her life. She has deep feelings for her parents, brothers and sisters, and teachers who set before her a rich way of life. And she has deep feelings for the beautiful setting in which all of this took place.

(This history was compiled by a student at UNM, Barbra VanSham, in approx. 1988)