Montford Johnson Family History

Montford Johnson

Chickasaw Rancher

For those of you who are interested in Montford Johnson the famous "Chickasaw Rancher", here is what I could find at the library in Ardmore. They have three books in the library and one is in the reference section and the other two are in the archive section. I checked on Amazon.com and the original book lists for over $400 which is quite a bit for a book published in 1961. Here goes:

Charles N. Johnson was born in England and immigrated to America when he was 19 years old. He then emigrated to Indian Territory and the Chickasaw Nation. He married a Chickasaw woman named Rebekah Courtney and became a citizen by marriage. Montford Johnson was born in 1843 in the Arbuckle Mountain area. Shortly after Montford was born Rebekah died. Charles went back East and left Montford and his older sister Adelaide with Chickasaw relatives at Ft. Arbuckle.

Stationed at Ft. Arbuckle was a Sgt. James Campbell. Campbell's son Michael married Adelaide and Montford married Michael's sister Mary Elizabeth Campbell in 1861. When Ft. Arbuckle was abandoned by Federal troops in 1861 it was generally believed that all Federal dependents went with the troops to Ft. Leavenworth, KS. This was not the case as Mary, Michael and Sgt. Campbell's wife, who was a slave owner, stayed behind. Michael later was named major in the Chickasaw Battalion during the Civil War.

Montford went into the cattle business in 1861 at Ft. Arbuckle on a small scale. In 1865, Montford and Jesse Chisholm were buffalo hunting on the Canadian near Chisholm's Trading Post. Montford remarked to Jesse that this would be prime ranch land if it weren't for the wild Indians and the buffalo. Jesse said that he would talk to the chiefs of the wild tribes about permitting him to ranch there without interference.

The wild Indian chiefs agreed to allow Montford to ranch there if he only had Indian, Negro or Mexican cowboys. They would not allow white cowboys and by no means would they allow a Texan to work there. The Comanche and Kiowa hated the Texans even more than they did the Mexicans.

Montford moved his operation to Old Ft. Arbuckle near present day Byars in the late 1860's and the rest is history. A mile north of Byers is the old community of Johnsonville which was named after Montford.

If you want to know more just shell out the $400 and send it to Amazon.com or you can buy the paperback version for a little less, about twenty bucks.