Page 19 - The Wellborn 2R Beef Story eBook

German immigrants, John Sanzenbacher and his nephew, Chris
Sanzenbacher and wife Lucy, came to America in pursuit of
gold during the California Gold Rush. When those dreams didn’t
pan out, they came to Texas seeking cattle country and pur-
chased what is now a portion of the Wellborn 2R Ranch in the
early 1870s in a community then known as Cambridge. They
lived in a dugout while their house was being built. In 1875 Chris
and Lucy had a baby, a girl they named Mamie. She is recorded
as the first white child born in Clay County.

John never had any children so at the time of his death in 1879
he left half of his land and inheritance to Mamie, the only
living Sanzenbacher child at the time. Her parents managed
her portion of ranch for her until she was old enough to do so. Situated near the Red
She married C.S. (Charlie) Scheer and they raised seven chil- River in north Texas, the
dren on the ranch. After their passing, their middle son, Henry Wellborn 2R Ranch was
Scheer, took on ownership of the family ranch, with his son, established near the
Henry Junior, eventually taking over. Current owners, Chris and famous Chisholm Trail, a
Joan Wellborn, purchased this historic family ranch from Henry cattle trail that was active
from 1867-1884. Most
Scheer, Jr. and his wife, Iris Dean. Kansas-bound cattle on
the Chisholm Trail crossed
into Indian Territory
at Red River Station in
Montague County, Texas,
just a few miles east of
Wellborn 2R Ranch. At
Red River Station, trail
drivers would pay their
taxes, have their cattle
dipped and inspected, and
bought supplies in nearby
Spanish Fort. Here’s an
outfit in the 1870s getting
ready for the trip north.
Cowboys and their horses at a dugout in Clay County, Texas. Photograph from the UT
Remnants of old dugouts and early settler artifacts can be Arlington Special Collection.
found around the ranch. Photograph taken in 1900~Courtesy of the
Clay County Historical Society.
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