Sometime between and 1950 and 1955 my grandfather Dudley Howery and cowboy dad Dudley Jr. (aka Ridge Durand) bought a ranch property near Tie Siding, Wyoming. That’s the best date I’ve come up with so far. The 1950 Census shows them both in Laramie, but when I was born we were already living at Tie Siding.
In 1950 they registered a brand, the 2\D. Did some research and found the original certificate. Until now I knew only it was registered to them in the 1956 Wyoming Brand Book.
That brand has been in our family ever since. After my dad died, it was registered to my step-mother Carolyn, and my half-brother Jesse. After Jesse died, the brand reverted to Carolyn alone, then she transferred it to herself and my nephew Chris.
Chris is apparently very proud of his brand. He does leatherwork. I’ve seen quite a few posts on social media with pictures of belts, keychains, and so on–all with the brand.
It makes me very happy to see the brand continuing in the family.
Symbolism
Brands don’st necessarily carry a particular meaning, although they’re often composed with the initials of the original owner. I don’t think it’s a stetch to read my dad’s brand as two Ds, standing for Dudley Sr. and Dudley Jr.
Other Howery Brands
My dad’s brand isn’t the only brand shown in the old brand books. There are other brands for our Howery cousins at Torrington and Hawk Springs.
My dad and Carolyn moved from Wyoming down to a ranch in Glendevey, Colorado about 1966 or 1967. Just across the border. So close, in fact, their post office address was Jelm, Wyoming.
I seem to remember my dad registering a different brand in Colorado. Maybe D/D or D\D. Oddly, non of my sibs remember anything like that. I thought they would; they grew up on that ranch. I decided to go down to the Denver Public Library yesterday and look at old brand books to see if I could find something.
I found nothing. Neither my dad nor Carolyn are listed in the 1972 Colorado Brand Book. Strange. Surely they used a brand on new ranch. In 1977, I found a listing for Carolyn Durand but nothing for my dad. Not under Dudley Howery or under Ridge Durand. Dad changed his name to Ridge Durand in 1972 or 1973, so I checked under both names.
I’m supposing Colorado brand registrations back then were for 10 years, as they are now, with a new brand book about every 5 years. So, 1972 and 1977 should cover the period that interests me. Just to be sure, I skipped forward, checking 1997, 2002, and 2007. (Dad died in 2002.) Still nothing for him; just registrations for Carolyn.
Continuing Search
I’m not sure where to go from here. I need to verify brand registrations back then were really for 10 years. And, I should probably contact the Colorado State archives and the Wyoming State Archives to find out where the original applications have been stored. Probably wouldn’t hurt to go back to checking property records, either.
References
- Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado Brand Book (1972, 1977, 1997, 2002, 2007).
- Wyoming State Livestock Commission, Wyoming Brand Book (1956, 2022).