Jesse S. Hoy manuscript

Item

Identifier: MS 0011

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Jesse S. Hoy manuscript (1952) is the result of work done by James G. Hodgson, Director of Libraries, Colorado A & M College. He organized and pieced together with contents, explanatory notes, etc., the disorganized pieces of the original Hoy manuscript, which was received with the purchase of Field and Stream. Jesse S. Hoy had been a resident of Brown's Hole, a place of historical interest to northwestern Colorado, northeastern Utah, and southwestern Wyoming. People of the area pressed him into writing what he knew for posterity. He did. Many parts have been lost, but it still contains many exciting stories of the mountains and plains areas during the years 1864 to 1872. It also gives some background history from 1839. The manuscript is divided into four parts with two appendices.

Dates

1952

Creator

Hoy, Jesse S., 1847- (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

Jesse S. Hoy was born at Hoy's Gap, Pennsylvania, in 1847. His parents were well-to-do and gave him a good education. He, however, came West at quite an early age. He spent four years freighting on the plains between Missouri and Salt Lake City. In 1865 he went to Denver, where he did odd jobs, hung around saloons, and did whacking for a trade firm. When the railroad was finished in 1867, he went to Cheyenne. In 1868 he bought a span of oxen and a wagon and hauled ties for the Union Pacific. In 1872 Hoy started working for Crawford and Thompson of Evanston. They had invested in a large herd of New Mexico cattle and had no place to winter them. Hoy, William Crawford, and some cowhands drove them the hundred some odd miles to Brown's hole. The next spring he took them back to Evanston. In the early summer he returned to Brown's Hole. He saw the possibilities of a residence there so sent for his brother, H. V. S. (Valentine). They, with George and Sam Spicer, with 300 head of cattle, set up a permanent residence. Hoy quit his job with Crawford and Thompson. Later he bought a small ranch near Evanston and managed to get himself elected to the Wyoming Territory House of Representatives.

The four Hoy brothers and their families lived on their holdings along the Green River. There was much trouble and contention through the years. On 1 March 1898, Valentine was killed. The killers were caught and charged with murder. Jesse was Justice of the Peace for the Precinct of Ladore, Routt County, Colorado. As such he issued the warrants and conducted the hearing. The men were charged but later escaped. By 1917, Jesse had become a recluse. His wife had died and the family gone.

This biography was taken from John Rolfe Burroughs' Where the Old West Stayed Young (1962).