Monthly Archives: December 2019

David Colbert McCanles (the family name was later changed to McCandless) was born in 1828 in North Carolina.  He was the son of James M. McCanles and Rachel Alexander.  It has been said that before moving his family west, he … Continue reading →

(Continued from last week) American Civil War  Between 1850 and 1861, the lower portion of the New Mexico Territory was largely neglected by the federal government and the territorial government in Santa Fe.  As a result of this neglect, and … Continue reading →

There no place on Earth without an interesting story, and there is no story about any of 19 present-day states of the United States that doesn’t begin with the Spanish Empire as a backdrop.  The story of New Mexico is … Continue reading →

Lamar’s Folly Mirabeau Lama served as the second president of the Republic of Texas.  He had a vision that one day, Texas would extend from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Coast —a somewhat linear projection not unlike the … Continue reading →

We’ve all seen the Hollywood recreations of the old west cattle drive.  In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, moving cattle was part of a major industry in the United States.  The films depict cowboys moving thousands of cattle several … Continue reading →