52 Ancestors 2025: Animals

 

This week’s prompt was “Animals,” and for so many of my farming ancestors, that meant livestock. But where to begin? With so many ancestors to choose from, I decided to focus on one: my namesake, David Cassatt. We’ve already learned about his unusual birth, his Civil War service, and his farming in Barton County. Although I cannot find him in the 1870 census, I know his family moved to Carroll County, Missouri, where he married Susan Corilla Houseworth on August 22, 1872. In 1878, he moved to Barton County, first renting a farm.

Much of what I know about his farm comes from the 1880 Census, both the Population and Agricultural Schedules. From those, and with some extra digging (with the help of ChatGPT), we get a vivid picture of his farm life.

Population Schedule:

• David Cassatt, 35, head, farmer

• Susan Cassatt, 27, wife

• Orville Cassatt, 4, son

• Virgil Cassatt, 2, son

Virgil was my grandfather. At this stage, David was a fairly young farmer, just establishing himself and his family. His boys were still too young to help with chores, but they probably had free run of the house and yard while David and Susan took care of the farm—working the land, tending livestock, and turning the harvest and animal products (meat, eggs, milk) into food.

Agricultural Schedule:

• Land: 95 improved acres (under cultivation)
• Value of farm: $1,200 (land, fences, buildings), $50 (implements and machinery), $1,000 (livestock)
• Wages paid: $10
• Value of farm products: $300

Livestock:

• 5 horses
• 4 milk cows
• 31 other cattle
• 6 calves dropped
• 35 cows purchased
• 3 cows died
• 23 swine
• 50 poultry

Crops and Yield:

• Butter: 40 lbs
• Eggs: 100 dozen
• Corn: 1,000 bushels from 55 acres
• Oats: 50 bushels from 4 acres
• Wheat: 122 bushels from 8 acres
• Dried beans: 25 bushels
• Castor beans: 132 bushels from 12 acres
• Molasses: 40 gallons from ¼ acre sorghum
• Potatoes: 175 bushels from 2 acres

Although some of the grains and produce were consumed or sold, much of it would have supported the livestock.

The five horses were the true workhorses of the farm, pulling plows and wagons in the age before tractors. The milk cows provided fresh milk—consumed at home (often heated briefly for safety) or churned into butter. David’s household produced 40 pounds of butter, most likely used in the kitchen but possibly sold if there was excess. Starting out, he also expanded his herd by purchasing 35 cows. Some of these, along with the calves, would have become milk cows, while others were fattened as steers for sale or kept as breeding bulls.

The swine and poultry were equally important. Pigs could be fed corn, kitchen scraps, and skim milk, and they were fattened through summer before being butchered in cool weather—likely with neighbors lending a hand. Without refrigeration, only the best cuts would be eaten fresh, sometimes at neighborhood feasts. The rest of the pork was cured with salt and sugar, sometimes smoked, and stored for the year. Lard, rendered from fat, was kept cool and used for cooking. Steers, too large for family consumption, would be taken to the nearest railhead—perhaps in Liberal, Golden City, or Lamar—for sale and slaughter.

The 50 chickens (and perhaps some turkeys, ducks, or geese) provided the 100 dozen eggs listed in the census. These eggs, along with surplus butter, could be sold for “butter and egg money.” Chickens themselves would occasionally become Sunday dinner.

Like most family farms of the time, David’s was highly diversified—producing food for the family and some cash income to sustain the household. Over time, he was very successful, eventually providing farms for his sons Orville, Virgil, and Bascom.

And then there’s the famous family picture. What about those rabbits on leashes? While farmers were known to eat almost anything edible, I suspect these rabbits were pets—one for each boy. By the time of that photo, the boys were old enough to be helping with chores, especially during the busy summer and harvest seasons. It was a demanding life, but one full of abundance on the newly broken prairie land.