Finding aid of the John Bratt Collection Ranching Records and Biographical Material
Michele Wellck
Autry Library
© 2010
Autry National Center of the American West
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: (323) 667-2000 ext. 383
Email: cmiller@autrynationalcenter.org
URL: http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/institute.php/
Autry National Center of the American West. All rights reserved.
Finding aid of the John Bratt Collection Ranching Records and Biographical Material
Collection number: 90.253.1300-1318
Autry LibraryAutry National Center of the American West
Los Angeles, California
- Processed by:
- Michele Wellck
- Date Completed:
- 1992
- Encoded by:
- Cheryl Miller
© 2010 Autry National Center of the American West. All rights reserved.
Title: John Bratt Collection Ranching Records and Biographical Material
Dates: 1869-1941
Collection number: 90.253.1300-1318
Creator:
Bratt, John, b. 1842
Creator:
John Bratt and Company
Collection Size:
1 linear foot
Repository:
Autry National Center. Institute for the Study of the American West
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Abstract: Records of John Bratt and Co. Ranching firm
Physical location: Autry Library
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/research_application.php
or contact library staff at (323) 667-2000.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Library, Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the
Autry Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Item identification] John Bratt Collection Ranching Records and Biographical Material, 90.253.1300-1318. Autry Library, Autry
National Center, Los Angeles, CA
Rosenstock Collection.
Processed by Michele Wellck, 1992.
Biography / Administrative History
John Bratt was born in Staffordshire, England, on August 9, 1842. He came to the United States in July 1864, settling in Nebraska
City, Nebraska Territory. From 1866 to 1870, he worked as a bullwhacker with a freighting team boud for Fort Phil Kearney,
Wyoming. In 1869, he was hired as a bookkeeper by Coe and Carter Cattle Company, which was headquartered at Fort McPherson.
He was married to Elizabeth Burke while at Fort McPherson. In 1870, he founded a cattle ranching company, the John Bratt and
Co. He kep a majority of his cattle on Birdwood Creek, northwest of North Platte, Nebraska. He retired from this business
in 1898. Between 1898 and his death in 1918, Bratt served on the North Platte School Board, served two terms as mayor of North
Platte, acquired interests in stock yards, and worked with his son-in-law E.R. Goodman in real estate and insurance. John
Bratt's autobiography has been published as Trails of Yesterday in 1921.
Scope and Content of Collection
The records of the John Bratt and Co. Ranching Firm (1869-1895), which comprise the bulk of the collection, include monthly
inventories of livestock, cattle sale records, lists of cattle brands and marks, an inventory of company land, accounts of
time worked by ranch hands, and accounts of provision purchases. The biographical material includes obituaries of John Bratt
and his published essay on his ox team freighting days (1917-1918). Also in the collection are several Federal Writers Project
pamphlets relating to pioneer life in Nebraska (1939-1941) and a newspaper account of Buffalo Bill Cody's funeral (1917).
Arranged by format.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Bratt, John, b. 1842
Ranching -- Nebraska
Ranchers -- Nebraska
Cattle trade -- Nebraska
Cattle brands
John Bratt and Co.
Coe and Carter Cattle Company
Buffalo Bill, 1846-1917
Obituaries.
Trails of Yesterday / by John Bratt
Pioneer Freighting Days with Ox Teams in 1866 / by John Bratt
Box 1: Ranching Records
Folder 1: Ledger (Shelved in Oversize)
Folder 2: Memo Book Nov. 30, 1877 to Apr. 17, 1878
Folder 3: Memo Book Apr. 17, 1878 to Aug. 19, 1878
Folder 4: Memo Book June 24, 1880 to Oct. 16, 1880
Folder 5: Time Book Nov. 1885 to Apr. 1886
Folder 6: Notebook - Land Inventory; Various Notes, 1885 to 1886
Folder 7: Notebook - Cattle Counts; Various Notes 1885
Folder 8: Notebook - Cattle Sold 1886
Folder 9: Notebook - Birdwood Ranch Provisions 1893
Folder 10: Ledger - Cattle and other stock lists
Folder 11: Ledger - Cattle Count; Brand and ear marks
Folder 12: Ledger - Account of Horses, Mules - McPherson Herd, 1875-1883
Folder 13: Ledger - Account of Cattle, McPherson Herd, Aug. 1875 to Dec. 31, 1883
Folder 14: Account of Cattle - Wood River and McPherson Herds, Sept. 16, 1869 to Dec. 31, 1875
Folder 15: Account of Native Herd, Fox Creek, June 1879
Folder 16: List of Names
Biographical Material
Folder 17: Essay - Pioneer Freighting Days with Ox Teams in 1866 /by John Bratt
Folder 18: Newspaper - North Platte Semi-Weekly Tribune, June 18, 1918 - Obituary of John Bratt on p. 3
Folder 19: Newspaper - Omaha Evening Bee, June 17, 1918 - Obituary of John Bratt on p. 5
Folder 20: Publications on Pioneer Life in Nebraska
Folder 21: Newspaper - Denver Post, Jan. 15, 1917 - Funeral of Buffalo Bill Cody
The papers of John Bratt's daughter, Elizabeth Bratt Baldwin, are held by Special Collections at the University of North Dakota's
library.