25/08/2023
Kyle Bagley,(Kacey Bennett Donk/Cookie)
Born: 8 November 1846 Parents: Father: Jeremiah Welsh (Wild Bill) – Born: 11 July 1821 Mother: Dawn Welsh (formally Bennett) (Mummy Dawn) – Born - 29 May 1819 Siblings: Elisa Cutter (Married to Dr. H Cutter) Born - 31 December 1848 Bio: Born to Jeremiah and Dawn in early November of 1846, grew up around Austin Texas and around the rangers learning all the tricks and skills from the Rangers, while being taught to shoot from the age of 5 by my father and schooled by my mother. By the time I was 14 the civil war had broken out and Texas joined the confederacy on Feb 1 st , 1861, a few of the rangers thought it was a good idea to sign up as did my father, but most of them stayed back to look after the homesteads of fellow Texans and carry on the rangering. I was not old enough to go off to battle but went along as I lied about my age to enlist (I’ve always looked older then my actual age). most of the time I spent around the Rangers camp was cleaning boots, sabres, and various other kit, hunting for food, and working on everyone guns when there was a problem to help pass the time. 1865 the war ended. I was 18 years of age and was classed as a man and battled hardened from all I had seen while at war, after the Rangers got back to Austin the majority of them carried on rangering where they left off and I fully enlisted with them. my father had, had enough after the war and retired but still stayed round the old Rangers building, teaching ranger skills with the other retired ranger to new rangers up until the government brought in the army for a union “state police force”. a lot of my skills had been homed by this time and I was a good shot thanks to all the hunting when supplies where scarce and battles I had been in with the Rangers during the war. I Acquired the nickname ‘Donk’ during the war because I took no insolence from anyone or bad manners, plus would end up sorting out my fathers and other rangers’ disputes with my strength and fists. In 1868 my father I and a few of the other Rangers had decided we wanted to try out a new direction and took up with a Rancher who was looking for more cowhands, where I learned new skills and become the new broncobuster as I bounced a lot better than the older cowhands (meaning I could take a good beating and still do my job). When 1872 came around the ranch owner had decided he wanted to drive up to Wyoming with his herd of cows and horses to settle in a new country for more adventure, my family and I all went along with a small wagon train that followed with the herd, We all left in spring of 1872, it took about 3 to 4 months and over 1000s miles, with some breaks in between because of accidents, bandits, Indians, deaths and friends leaving and new friends joining, oh and of course the marriage of my sister to young Dr. H Cutter. Fall of 1872 we pitched up camp and begun to build a new life in a piece of country we carved out for ourselves, unfortunately the Rancher we had left with died in a wagon accident on the trail. My father took on the horses and formed his horse emporium, Myself and the other cowhands continued to cowboy with the cattle the old rancher left behind that we herded all the way up to Wyoming, I gave up my role as broncobuster as my body just wouldn’t take it anymore, I still cowboyed but also become the cowboys cook (cookie), plus kept up the hunting and doing some gun repair for the boys.
