Great grandparents - Arthur and Lily McCain

Jackson, Wyoming plays a big role in our family history. Here, my great-great grandparents Simpson homesteaded large tracts of land that are now part of the town. Here, my great-grandparents Redmond homesteaded the Spring Gulch Ranch, which they sold to a member of Butch Cassidy's gang, reportedly for cash. They used the proceeds to buy the Red Rock Ranch at Kelly, which they turned into a dude ranch that is still in operation today. Here, my great-grandfather Arthur Clinton 'Mac' McCain, was the Supervisor of the Teton National Forest from 1918 - 1936.

Because we lived in a different town, and since Mac died when I was six,  I know him only from photos and written documents in my possession. Fortunately, he left his descendants with an account of his life, focusing on his Forest Service experiences. Written in 1929, it reveals to me that he was a man of bravery, wit and humor. Some of the experiences he describes are harrowing, like being trapped on a ledge for 2 days and nights by a forest fire. Some are humorous, like the chicken stories. Some are filled with pathos, like the time he read in a newspaper the tragic account of the drowning of a woman and her two children, "describing to a tee my Guards buckboard and horses, my wife and kiddies, the ford where they would cross to town". When he finally read the names of the unfortunate, he "almost shouted for joy, but was soon depressed with sorrow and sympathy for my oldtime cowpuncher friend" whose wife and children were the victims. 

After Mac retired in 1936, he and Lily purchased a travel trailer  so that they could be mobile. His wit is palpable as he explains:

A picture worth a thousand words

I love this photo of my great-grandparents. Two happy people sitting outside their home on wheels with the curtains on the window and the vintage automobile out front. It probably seemed like a palace in comparison to the one room log shack where Mac started his Forest Service career with Lily and their two "kiddies". 

Mac's account

This map of Montana provides us with some perspective on the rugged area where Mac and Lily lived in their first assignment at Hannan Gulch. The red pin is on the South Fork of the Sun River. Miles City, their next assignment, is in the bottom right corner of the map, and Ashland, where Mac said he moved them because there was no forest at Miles City, is about half-way between Miles City and Billings, probably about one hundred miles south of I94.

From Lawrence to LAWRENCE

Captain James Lawrence, my 4th great-grandfather  became a naval hero after he died of the wounds that he sustained during the engagement of his ship, the USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon during the War of 1812.

 

From an oil painting by John Theophilus Lee 'Engagement of the Chesapeake and the Shannon'. Photo courtesy of the New York Historical Society, New York City.

In the 200 years that have passed since his death, the United States Navy has named five ships the 'USS LAWRENCE' to honor him.

Excerpted from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation's event program

The fifth USS LAWRENCE, which was used until 1994, was sponsored and christened in February 1960 by my great aunt, Mrs. Fernie C. (Dorothy) Hubbard, Captain Lawrence's 2nd great-granddaughter. 

Excerpted from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation's event program

The christening at the moment of impact

While my brother and I stayed home in Bozeman, Montana under the watchful care of my paternal grandmother, Dorothy and my mother, Patricia Burrows, traveled to Camden, New Jersey to attend the launching and christening ceremony.

Dorothy Hubbard and Patricia Burrows

When the time for the commissioning of the ship arrived, in January, 1962, family matters in Montana kept Dorothy from being able to attend in her official capacity of sponsor. So she asked her cousin, Sarnia Marquand, to represent her. Sarnia gracefully accepted, and wrote this humorous and touching letter to Dorothy to tell her about the day. I chuckled as I read her account of being "in such a lather to live up to this occasion properly that I; had my dress cleaned...washed my white gloves, bought a new pr. of stockings (2 prs. in fact in case one got a run on my way to Philadelphia!), mended my nightgown (although the Admiral was not likely to see it), got a mild permanent wave (my sisters will be greatly relieved as they have been after me to do this for months), got out my new black swede (sic) high heeled pumps, and even wriggled into a girdle. What more can one do for a Sponsor and the Navy? I tried, anyway. Oh yes, and washed my face with soap, greased it and put on nail polish."   

From a newspaper clipping, source unknown

Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Sarnia, her loving personality is evident from these mementos of a once in a lifetime happening.