Royal & Martha from Baca County Book

This was written by Martha some time in the early 1980’s. Again it was published in the Baca County book. I used to have this image of the Rutherfords making a long trip from Texas to Colorado in covered wagons. There were two wagons and 40 or 50 head of cattle. I remember Uncle Bill saying (he was probably 4-5 at the time of the trip), “We put the girls up front so they would let us come in to town”. It was certainly not an easy trip for a family of ten.

I was working at a place in Concord, Ca (in the late 1980’s) and they had a map of the United States. I looked at the Texas Panhandle and found Ochiltree and looked across to SouthEastern Colorado. It was 200-300 miles. Not the magnitude of a trip I had thought. Then I remember my family moving from Montrose to Stockton the end of the summer of 1956. We spent most of the summer getting ready. We bought a 1952 Dodge Pickup Truck with special stake sides. Dad and I build a trailer on top of an old axle and build a plywood box 5x8 feet and an arched metal roof. It was a major under taking and we were going 1200 miles with Car & Truck.

We weighted the truck & trailer when we finally got to Stockton and they tipped the scale between 9000-10000 pounds. We hauled home canned goods, screws, nails, tools, etc. Everything out of the garage and work shop. I don’t think we left anything behind. Mom always said, “three moves is as good as a fire.” I am not sure that was true with dad. Once they came and helped me move when I lived in Walnut Creek. We got everything moved and there was dad out in the yard loading up old wooden fence sections, and taking down the built-in workbenches in the garage. There was nothing left behind.

Another thing of note here was the editor changed Horace & Madie’s last name from Retherford to Rutherford. Which might cause confusion for some

Royal and Martha Rutherford

Royal, youngest son of Annie and James Rutherford was born at Ochiltree, Texas, and January 19, 1909. He came to Baca County in July 1910, with his mother, brothers and sisters.

He grew up on a farm northeast of Vilas, attending school at Eureka and Vilas. He graduated from Vilas School and attended college at Greeley. He started teaching at Big Flat school before he was 18 years old. He taught at Wentworth, Vilas, Walch and Springfield.

While attending Summer College at Greeley, he met Martha Moore from Indiana. They were married in Hoopston, Illinois.

He served as superintendent of Springfield schools one year, then went to Sergeants to teach. Later he taught at Atwood, Sterling, and Montrose in Colorado and Prescott, Arizona.
They moved from Montrose to Stockton, California, where he taught until he retired, and where they still live. Martha taught 3 years before they married. After they moved to California, Martha returned to teaching and taught 17 more years. Royal spent 43 years in teaching and administration.

They have four children, Marjorie, Thomas, Richard and Mary. Royal and Martha enjoy their thirteen grandchildren who all live within a few hours drive of Stockton. Their daughters have also taught school.

Horace and Madie Rutherford [sic], Royal’s sister, moved to California about the same time as the Rutherfords. They had adopted two children, but Madie died while the children were small. When the children were 13 and 12 years old, Horace died also. Royal and Martha took them into their home. Linda studied police science in collage, is now married to a peace officer, and has a son and a daughter. Terry worked with the Boy Scouts and is now managing his own business.

Royal and Martha are retired in Stockton. They enjoy working in their yard and greenhouse, traveling, and visiting with their grandchildren. By Martha Rutherford