Cornelia Adair

Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair (April 6, 1837 – September 22, 1921) was a Texas ranch landowner.

Life

Adair was born Cornelia Wadsworth on April, 6, 1837, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was one of six children. Adair grew up in a wealthy family who owned over 50,000 acres of land near Geneseo, New York. She became an accomplished horserider which encouraged her interests in traveling across the prairies of the western United States.

Her second husband became a partner with Charles Goodnight to found the JA Ranch. When her second husband died, she became partner. She enjoyed hunting and participated at roundups.

She founded a hospital, and supported building the Clarendon YMCA building.

Family

She was married to Montgomery Ritchie from 1857 until his death in 1864 from complications after serving in the Civil War. They had two children. In 1869, she married John George (Jack) Adair, a Scottish-Irish businessman and landowner. Following the wedding, the couple moved to Geneseo, New York.. The couple divided their time between Ireland, England, and New York until his death in Missouri in 1885.

Her great-grand daughter is Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie.

Works

• My diary, August 30 to November 5, 1874 introduction by Montagu K. Brown, illustrations by Malcolm Thurgood. Austin, Texas & London: Texas University Press, 1965. OCLC 556673646
• Letters of a cattle baroness, San Antonio, Tex., 1984. OCLC 310367842