Lydia Ann Marston was an Arizona pioneer who's family were early California settlers. She survived three husbands and raised her own family in the Arizona Territory where her husband J.D. Tewksbury's sons were involved in an infamous feud that would go down in history as The Pleasant Valley Wars.
Born in Wales, Lydia arrived in New Orleans with her parents Thomas & Mary Ann Marston and their family in 1850. She later moved to California with them. Some accounts say she grew up in Maine and lived in Oregon before moving to California.
Lydia was first married to a man by the last name of Crigger. No information about him was found. Their daughter Mary Ann Crigger was born in Salinas, California about 1868, later her name would be shown as both Crigger and Shultes at various times.
Lydia's second husband is David Shultes, who is said to have been born in Erie Co., New York in 1840 and moved to California in 1850. He married Lydia in Yolo County, California in 1868. On the 1870 census David, Lydia and her daughter Mary Ann are living in Salinas Co., California under the misspelled name of "Shall". Lydia's siblings Mary Ann, John and James Marston are living next door. Shortly afterward, David and Lydia moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he owned a farm and later ran for Sheriff of Maricopa County.
David Shultes died May 3, 1877. Probate records in Maricopa County say he resided in Maricopa County at the time of his death, but he also had mining property in Pinal County, Arizona. Lydia is the Administratrix of his estate and the paperwork gives his wife and children as his only heirs His childrens' names are given as Hannah Shultes, age five; Thomas A Shultes, age three and Adolphus Shultes, age one. Hannah would be Mary Ann, Adolphus would be Augustus.
Augustus (August) Shultes' Arizona death certificate (State File No. 820) says he was born in Phoenix, Arizona March 14, 1874. It gives his parents names as "David Shultes", born in Buffalo, New York; and "Liddie Marsten", born in California. The informant was his half brother "W.S. Tewksbury" of Crown King, Arizona.
Lydia married James Dunning "J.D." Tewksbury Nov 3, 1879 in Arizona and went to live in Pleasant Valley in the Tonto Basin area of Arizona.
James was in California with five children who were listed as "half Indian" on the 1870 Humboldt County, California census. He appears on the 1875 Elko Co., Nevada census with his sons Frank and Jim.
The Tewksbury men were involved in one of the most infamous events in the history of the Arizona Territory, a feud between the Tewksbury and the Graham families known as The Pleasant Valley War. It was said that James D. Tewksbury was not involved in the actual fighting between his sons and the Graham family group, but they all lived close to one another so James and Lydia were right in the middle of it.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann Crigger married John Tewksbury who was the son of her mother's husband James "J.D" Tewksbury. She and her husband had their own cabin nearby and several of the Tewksbury brothers lived with them at one time or another. Her husband John was one of the Tewksbury men killed in the feud.
Lydia and her twelve year old son Thomas Shultes were at their home Sept. 1, 1887, when son-in-law John Tewksbury and William Jacobs were ambushed and killed outside their cabin by members of the Graham faction. Stories vary by account as to how long the shoot-out lasted and how long it was before Lydia and Thomas were able to venture out and find the bodies to bury them.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann was pregnant and at her own home with her small child when her husband was killed. She later married John Rhodes, one of the jurors at the inquest of her husband's death, and had eight more children. In the 1920s she gave her son a letter containing her version of the story about the feud.
James D. Tewksbury died March 10, 1891. His will left everything to Lydia and her children, leaving nothing to his children from his first marriage. Shortly after his death, Lydia moved to Phoenix, AZ with their sons Parker and Walter. In 1903 she sold her property and moved to Jerome, AZ., where her sons Thomas and Gus Shultes were living.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia's Children:
Mary Ann Crigger Tewksbury Rhodes
Thomas shultes was a well respected pioneer who died in 1954 in Wickenburg,Maricopa Co., Arizona.
August "Gus" Shultes died in the Veteren's Facility in Prescott,Yavapai Co., Arizona in 1937.
Walter Scott Tewksbury died in the Pioneer Home in Prescott,Yavapai Co.Arizona in 1945.
Parker Tewksbury moved to Virginia City, Nevada and died September 1881.
Information was obtained using various resources such as census records, birth and death certificates, newspaper accounts and Arizona history archives. Some information found on ancestry.com and familysearch.org.
------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASANT VALLEY WARS:
I have tried to give an unbiased and accurate accounting of the Pleasant Valley War years.
There are several well researched and documented accounts of the Pleasant Valley War and the people involved. There are also many not so accurate stories due to biased and/or outrageous newspaper, law enforcement and witness accounts. Legendary author Zane Gray later wrote a book based on the events.
It was a bloody and infamous part of Arizona history and is even said to be the reason why it took so long for Arizona to become a state. Arizona Territory had already been petitioning to be granted statehood before the feud started, but because of the length and infamy of the feud, Washington legislators felt Arizona was not civilized enough to become a state.
The 'Pleasant Valley War' was also known as the 'Graham-Tewksbury War' and 'The Tonto Basin War'. It centered around two families (Graham and the Tewksbury) who were early settlers and cattle ranchers in the territory. Other people joined, choosing sides based on friendships, who's side they thoughr was right, or simply who paid the most. The two families were once friends but became bitter enemies who managed to virtually wipe each other out by the time it was finished.
Beginning around 1882 with arguments and fights, the feud peaked in 1887 when thirteen men were killed over a period of four months. By 1888 Tom Graham Jr. and Ed Tewksbury were the only two men left of the feuding families. In less than a decade between thirty and fifty men (depending on which account you read)from both sides had been killed. On August 3, 1892 Tom Graham was ambushed and killed. Ed Tewksbury was tried and convicted for murder, but the conviction was set aside due to a legal technicality. Ed Tewksbury died of natural causes in 1904.
Born in Wales, Lydia arrived in New Orleans with her parents Thomas & Mary Ann Marston and their family in 1850. She later moved to California with them. Some accounts say she grew up in Maine and lived in Oregon before moving to California.
Lydia was first married to a man by the last name of Crigger. No information about him was found. Their daughter Mary Ann Crigger was born in Salinas, California about 1868, later her name would be shown as both Crigger and Shultes at various times.
Lydia's second husband is David Shultes, who is said to have been born in Erie Co., New York in 1840 and moved to California in 1850. He married Lydia in Yolo County, California in 1868. On the 1870 census David, Lydia and her daughter Mary Ann are living in Salinas Co., California under the misspelled name of "Shall". Lydia's siblings Mary Ann, John and James Marston are living next door. Shortly afterward, David and Lydia moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he owned a farm and later ran for Sheriff of Maricopa County.
David Shultes died May 3, 1877. Probate records in Maricopa County say he resided in Maricopa County at the time of his death, but he also had mining property in Pinal County, Arizona. Lydia is the Administratrix of his estate and the paperwork gives his wife and children as his only heirs His childrens' names are given as Hannah Shultes, age five; Thomas A Shultes, age three and Adolphus Shultes, age one. Hannah would be Mary Ann, Adolphus would be Augustus.
Augustus (August) Shultes' Arizona death certificate (State File No. 820) says he was born in Phoenix, Arizona March 14, 1874. It gives his parents names as "David Shultes", born in Buffalo, New York; and "Liddie Marsten", born in California. The informant was his half brother "W.S. Tewksbury" of Crown King, Arizona.
Lydia married James Dunning "J.D." Tewksbury Nov 3, 1879 in Arizona and went to live in Pleasant Valley in the Tonto Basin area of Arizona.
James was in California with five children who were listed as "half Indian" on the 1870 Humboldt County, California census. He appears on the 1875 Elko Co., Nevada census with his sons Frank and Jim.
The Tewksbury men were involved in one of the most infamous events in the history of the Arizona Territory, a feud between the Tewksbury and the Graham families known as The Pleasant Valley War. It was said that James D. Tewksbury was not involved in the actual fighting between his sons and the Graham family group, but they all lived close to one another so James and Lydia were right in the middle of it.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann Crigger married John Tewksbury who was the son of her mother's husband James "J.D" Tewksbury. She and her husband had their own cabin nearby and several of the Tewksbury brothers lived with them at one time or another. Her husband John was one of the Tewksbury men killed in the feud.
Lydia and her twelve year old son Thomas Shultes were at their home Sept. 1, 1887, when son-in-law John Tewksbury and William Jacobs were ambushed and killed outside their cabin by members of the Graham faction. Stories vary by account as to how long the shoot-out lasted and how long it was before Lydia and Thomas were able to venture out and find the bodies to bury them.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann was pregnant and at her own home with her small child when her husband was killed. She later married John Rhodes, one of the jurors at the inquest of her husband's death, and had eight more children. In the 1920s she gave her son a letter containing her version of the story about the feud.
James D. Tewksbury died March 10, 1891. His will left everything to Lydia and her children, leaving nothing to his children from his first marriage. Shortly after his death, Lydia moved to Phoenix, AZ with their sons Parker and Walter. In 1903 she sold her property and moved to Jerome, AZ., where her sons Thomas and Gus Shultes were living.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia's Children:
Mary Ann Crigger Tewksbury Rhodes
Thomas shultes was a well respected pioneer who died in 1954 in Wickenburg,Maricopa Co., Arizona.
August "Gus" Shultes died in the Veteren's Facility in Prescott,Yavapai Co., Arizona in 1937.
Walter Scott Tewksbury died in the Pioneer Home in Prescott,Yavapai Co.Arizona in 1945.
Parker Tewksbury moved to Virginia City, Nevada and died September 1881.
Information was obtained using various resources such as census records, birth and death certificates, newspaper accounts and Arizona history archives. Some information found on ancestry.com and familysearch.org.
------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASANT VALLEY WARS:
I have tried to give an unbiased and accurate accounting of the Pleasant Valley War years.
There are several well researched and documented accounts of the Pleasant Valley War and the people involved. There are also many not so accurate stories due to biased and/or outrageous newspaper, law enforcement and witness accounts. Legendary author Zane Gray later wrote a book based on the events.
It was a bloody and infamous part of Arizona history and is even said to be the reason why it took so long for Arizona to become a state. Arizona Territory had already been petitioning to be granted statehood before the feud started, but because of the length and infamy of the feud, Washington legislators felt Arizona was not civilized enough to become a state.
The 'Pleasant Valley War' was also known as the 'Graham-Tewksbury War' and 'The Tonto Basin War'. It centered around two families (Graham and the Tewksbury) who were early settlers and cattle ranchers in the territory. Other people joined, choosing sides based on friendships, who's side they thoughr was right, or simply who paid the most. The two families were once friends but became bitter enemies who managed to virtually wipe each other out by the time it was finished.
Beginning around 1882 with arguments and fights, the feud peaked in 1887 when thirteen men were killed over a period of four months. By 1888 Tom Graham Jr. and Ed Tewksbury were the only two men left of the feuding families. In less than a decade between thirty and fifty men (depending on which account you read)from both sides had been killed. On August 3, 1892 Tom Graham was ambushed and killed. Ed Tewksbury was tried and convicted for murder, but the conviction was set aside due to a legal technicality. Ed Tewksbury died of natural causes in 1904.
Lydia Ann Marston was an Arizona pioneer who's family were early California settlers. She survived three husbands and raised her own family in the Arizona Territory where her husband J.D. Tewksbury's sons were involved in an infamous feud that would go down in history as The Pleasant Valley Wars.
Born in Wales, Lydia arrived in New Orleans with her parents Thomas & Mary Ann Marston and their family in 1850. She later moved to California with them. Some accounts say she grew up in Maine and lived in Oregon before moving to California.
Lydia was first married to a man by the last name of Crigger. No information about him was found. Their daughter Mary Ann Crigger was born in Salinas, California about 1868, later her name would be shown as both Crigger and Shultes at various times.
Lydia's second husband is David Shultes, who is said to have been born in Erie Co., New York in 1840 and moved to California in 1850. He married Lydia in Yolo County, California in 1868. On the 1870 census David, Lydia and her daughter Mary Ann are living in Salinas Co., California under the misspelled name of "Shall". Lydia's siblings Mary Ann, John and James Marston are living next door. Shortly afterward, David and Lydia moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he owned a farm and later ran for Sheriff of Maricopa County.
David Shultes died May 3, 1877. Probate records in Maricopa County say he resided in Maricopa County at the time of his death, but he also had mining property in Pinal County, Arizona. Lydia is the Administratrix of his estate and the paperwork gives his wife and children as his only heirs His childrens' names are given as Hannah Shultes, age five; Thomas A Shultes, age three and Adolphus Shultes, age one. Hannah would be Mary Ann, Adolphus would be Augustus.
Augustus (August) Shultes' Arizona death certificate (State File No. 820) says he was born in Phoenix, Arizona March 14, 1874. It gives his parents names as "David Shultes", born in Buffalo, New York; and "Liddie Marsten", born in California. The informant was his half brother "W.S. Tewksbury" of Crown King, Arizona.
Lydia married James Dunning "J.D." Tewksbury Nov 3, 1879 in Arizona and went to live in Pleasant Valley in the Tonto Basin area of Arizona.
James was in California with five children who were listed as "half Indian" on the 1870 Humboldt County, California census. He appears on the 1875 Elko Co., Nevada census with his sons Frank and Jim.
The Tewksbury men were involved in one of the most infamous events in the history of the Arizona Territory, a feud between the Tewksbury and the Graham families known as The Pleasant Valley War. It was said that James D. Tewksbury was not involved in the actual fighting between his sons and the Graham family group, but they all lived close to one another so James and Lydia were right in the middle of it.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann Crigger married John Tewksbury who was the son of her mother's husband James "J.D" Tewksbury. She and her husband had their own cabin nearby and several of the Tewksbury brothers lived with them at one time or another. Her husband John was one of the Tewksbury men killed in the feud.
Lydia and her twelve year old son Thomas Shultes were at their home Sept. 1, 1887, when son-in-law John Tewksbury and William Jacobs were ambushed and killed outside their cabin by members of the Graham faction. Stories vary by account as to how long the shoot-out lasted and how long it was before Lydia and Thomas were able to venture out and find the bodies to bury them.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann was pregnant and at her own home with her small child when her husband was killed. She later married John Rhodes, one of the jurors at the inquest of her husband's death, and had eight more children. In the 1920s she gave her son a letter containing her version of the story about the feud.
James D. Tewksbury died March 10, 1891. His will left everything to Lydia and her children, leaving nothing to his children from his first marriage. Shortly after his death, Lydia moved to Phoenix, AZ with their sons Parker and Walter. In 1903 she sold her property and moved to Jerome, AZ., where her sons Thomas and Gus Shultes were living.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia's Children:
Mary Ann Crigger Tewksbury Rhodes
Thomas shultes was a well respected pioneer who died in 1954 in Wickenburg,Maricopa Co., Arizona.
August "Gus" Shultes died in the Veteren's Facility in Prescott,Yavapai Co., Arizona in 1937.
Walter Scott Tewksbury died in the Pioneer Home in Prescott,Yavapai Co.Arizona in 1945.
Parker Tewksbury moved to Virginia City, Nevada and died September 1881.
Information was obtained using various resources such as census records, birth and death certificates, newspaper accounts and Arizona history archives. Some information found on ancestry.com and familysearch.org.
------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASANT VALLEY WARS:
I have tried to give an unbiased and accurate accounting of the Pleasant Valley War years.
There are several well researched and documented accounts of the Pleasant Valley War and the people involved. There are also many not so accurate stories due to biased and/or outrageous newspaper, law enforcement and witness accounts. Legendary author Zane Gray later wrote a book based on the events.
It was a bloody and infamous part of Arizona history and is even said to be the reason why it took so long for Arizona to become a state. Arizona Territory had already been petitioning to be granted statehood before the feud started, but because of the length and infamy of the feud, Washington legislators felt Arizona was not civilized enough to become a state.
The 'Pleasant Valley War' was also known as the 'Graham-Tewksbury War' and 'The Tonto Basin War'. It centered around two families (Graham and the Tewksbury) who were early settlers and cattle ranchers in the territory. Other people joined, choosing sides based on friendships, who's side they thoughr was right, or simply who paid the most. The two families were once friends but became bitter enemies who managed to virtually wipe each other out by the time it was finished.
Beginning around 1882 with arguments and fights, the feud peaked in 1887 when thirteen men were killed over a period of four months. By 1888 Tom Graham Jr. and Ed Tewksbury were the only two men left of the feuding families. In less than a decade between thirty and fifty men (depending on which account you read)from both sides had been killed. On August 3, 1892 Tom Graham was ambushed and killed. Ed Tewksbury was tried and convicted for murder, but the conviction was set aside due to a legal technicality. Ed Tewksbury died of natural causes in 1904.
Born in Wales, Lydia arrived in New Orleans with her parents Thomas & Mary Ann Marston and their family in 1850. She later moved to California with them. Some accounts say she grew up in Maine and lived in Oregon before moving to California.
Lydia was first married to a man by the last name of Crigger. No information about him was found. Their daughter Mary Ann Crigger was born in Salinas, California about 1868, later her name would be shown as both Crigger and Shultes at various times.
Lydia's second husband is David Shultes, who is said to have been born in Erie Co., New York in 1840 and moved to California in 1850. He married Lydia in Yolo County, California in 1868. On the 1870 census David, Lydia and her daughter Mary Ann are living in Salinas Co., California under the misspelled name of "Shall". Lydia's siblings Mary Ann, John and James Marston are living next door. Shortly afterward, David and Lydia moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he owned a farm and later ran for Sheriff of Maricopa County.
David Shultes died May 3, 1877. Probate records in Maricopa County say he resided in Maricopa County at the time of his death, but he also had mining property in Pinal County, Arizona. Lydia is the Administratrix of his estate and the paperwork gives his wife and children as his only heirs His childrens' names are given as Hannah Shultes, age five; Thomas A Shultes, age three and Adolphus Shultes, age one. Hannah would be Mary Ann, Adolphus would be Augustus.
Augustus (August) Shultes' Arizona death certificate (State File No. 820) says he was born in Phoenix, Arizona March 14, 1874. It gives his parents names as "David Shultes", born in Buffalo, New York; and "Liddie Marsten", born in California. The informant was his half brother "W.S. Tewksbury" of Crown King, Arizona.
Lydia married James Dunning "J.D." Tewksbury Nov 3, 1879 in Arizona and went to live in Pleasant Valley in the Tonto Basin area of Arizona.
James was in California with five children who were listed as "half Indian" on the 1870 Humboldt County, California census. He appears on the 1875 Elko Co., Nevada census with his sons Frank and Jim.
The Tewksbury men were involved in one of the most infamous events in the history of the Arizona Territory, a feud between the Tewksbury and the Graham families known as The Pleasant Valley War. It was said that James D. Tewksbury was not involved in the actual fighting between his sons and the Graham family group, but they all lived close to one another so James and Lydia were right in the middle of it.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann Crigger married John Tewksbury who was the son of her mother's husband James "J.D" Tewksbury. She and her husband had their own cabin nearby and several of the Tewksbury brothers lived with them at one time or another. Her husband John was one of the Tewksbury men killed in the feud.
Lydia and her twelve year old son Thomas Shultes were at their home Sept. 1, 1887, when son-in-law John Tewksbury and William Jacobs were ambushed and killed outside their cabin by members of the Graham faction. Stories vary by account as to how long the shoot-out lasted and how long it was before Lydia and Thomas were able to venture out and find the bodies to bury them.
Lydia's daughter Mary Ann was pregnant and at her own home with her small child when her husband was killed. She later married John Rhodes, one of the jurors at the inquest of her husband's death, and had eight more children. In the 1920s she gave her son a letter containing her version of the story about the feud.
James D. Tewksbury died March 10, 1891. His will left everything to Lydia and her children, leaving nothing to his children from his first marriage. Shortly after his death, Lydia moved to Phoenix, AZ with their sons Parker and Walter. In 1903 she sold her property and moved to Jerome, AZ., where her sons Thomas and Gus Shultes were living.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia's Children:
Mary Ann Crigger Tewksbury Rhodes
Thomas shultes was a well respected pioneer who died in 1954 in Wickenburg,Maricopa Co., Arizona.
August "Gus" Shultes died in the Veteren's Facility in Prescott,Yavapai Co., Arizona in 1937.
Walter Scott Tewksbury died in the Pioneer Home in Prescott,Yavapai Co.Arizona in 1945.
Parker Tewksbury moved to Virginia City, Nevada and died September 1881.
Information was obtained using various resources such as census records, birth and death certificates, newspaper accounts and Arizona history archives. Some information found on ancestry.com and familysearch.org.
------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASANT VALLEY WARS:
I have tried to give an unbiased and accurate accounting of the Pleasant Valley War years.
There are several well researched and documented accounts of the Pleasant Valley War and the people involved. There are also many not so accurate stories due to biased and/or outrageous newspaper, law enforcement and witness accounts. Legendary author Zane Gray later wrote a book based on the events.
It was a bloody and infamous part of Arizona history and is even said to be the reason why it took so long for Arizona to become a state. Arizona Territory had already been petitioning to be granted statehood before the feud started, but because of the length and infamy of the feud, Washington legislators felt Arizona was not civilized enough to become a state.
The 'Pleasant Valley War' was also known as the 'Graham-Tewksbury War' and 'The Tonto Basin War'. It centered around two families (Graham and the Tewksbury) who were early settlers and cattle ranchers in the territory. Other people joined, choosing sides based on friendships, who's side they thoughr was right, or simply who paid the most. The two families were once friends but became bitter enemies who managed to virtually wipe each other out by the time it was finished.
Beginning around 1882 with arguments and fights, the feud peaked in 1887 when thirteen men were killed over a period of four months. By 1888 Tom Graham Jr. and Ed Tewksbury were the only two men left of the feuding families. In less than a decade between thirty and fifty men (depending on which account you read)from both sides had been killed. On August 3, 1892 Tom Graham was ambushed and killed. Ed Tewksbury was tried and convicted for murder, but the conviction was set aside due to a legal technicality. Ed Tewksbury died of natural causes in 1904.
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