Horrell-Tidwell Family
Jim Tidwell with Debbie, James, and Cindy (L-R)
Globe - Gila County
Inducted in 2023
John and Susan Proffitt Horrell left Texas after the Civil War with a herd of cattle and headed West. Originally planning on settling in Arizona Territory; they traveled on to Julian, California due to Indian conflicts. The couple returned to the Globe area in 1877 with nine children and a herd of cattle wearing the JH6 brand. They settled in the El Capitan area before moving to Wheatfields. They operated the JH6 Ranch at Castle Dome near what is now Pinto Valley and a farming and pasture operation at Wheatfields.
John died in 1894 and Ed, his youngest son, took over the family business at the age of nineteen. Susan, along with son Marion and daughter Ida, moved to Mesa to pasture some of the Horrell Livestock. Ed’s brother Charles continued ranching in the Wheatfields area.
Ed had proved to be very adept as a cowboy and horseman at an early age. He built a reputation at local rodeos and was frequently referred to as champion steer tier of the Southwest. In 1898 a local teacher asked for a cowboy to write to her sister. Ed volunteered to write to Alice Wilson, a teacher in Texas and a graduate of Sam Houston Normal College. The couple married in 1900 and became the parents of two sons, Louis and Earl.
During the teens and 1920’s, Ed bought, sold and traded several ranches in the Globe area. In 1915, he purchased the Luther Jackson Allotment where Roosevelt Lake is now located. He also purchased several small outfits resulting in the Cross-P Ranch, and continued ownership of the JH6 Ranch. Always interested in cattlemen's affairs, Ed was active in cattle associations and a Director of the Arizona National Livestock Show. He served as a Director of the First National Bank of Globe. Ed’s sons worked with their father on all their ranching properties. Louis and Earl were educated with private tutors, graduated from Globe High School and headed to the University of Arizona in Tucson. Earl had a herd of cattle near Sonoita in partnership with his dad. In 1924, he left the University due to a letter he received from Ed to liquidate all livestock holdings in Southern Arizona as the result of a severe downturn in the cattle market. Earl sold all the cattle and horses and went back to the Globe ranches to assist his father. Louis had completed his education at the U of A and married Winifred Foster in 1925.
Earl married Blanche Carter, a local teacher, in 1928. The couple set up housekeeping at the Campaign Ranch which Earl had just purchased and was adjacent to other Horrell ranch properties. There was no running water or indoor plumbing of any kind. In addition, the ranch could not be reached by automobile. Blanche’s father came to the ranch and put in a kitchen with running water. They raised cattle and grew fruit and vegetables to sell in town. They traveled to town on Saturdays to sell their produce, and then go to the Plaza in Miami to dance with friends. Blanche would not ride a horse and walked the several miles from the Campaign Ranch to the Cross P where Ed resided and the car was located.
As the Depression took place Earl worked odd jobs to pay off the ranch as soon as he could. He was appointed the first Secretary of the Arizona Livestock Sanitary Board by Governor George W. P. Hunt. This meant a move to Phoenix where their daughter Earline was born. In the summer of 1939, Earl saved enough money to purchase the Henderson Allotment known as the Half Diamond Cross Ranch. This ranch was located near Roosevelt and bordered their existing Campaign Ranch, as well as two ranches owned by his father.
Louis and Winnie were not blessed with children; Earline was the only child of Earl and Blanche. She graduated from Globe High School and majored in elementary education at the U of A, graduating in 1958. Earline married Jim Tidwell in 1959. Jim came to Tucson from Texas in 1949 to attend the U of A. After graduation, Jim was involved in a fat lamb feed yard with Mike and Bob Echeverria in Casa Grande. A few months before Jim and Earline’s wedding, Jim accepted a job in Ogden, Utah with Swift and Company.
Their daughter Cindy was born in Ogden. A promotion sent the family to Columbus, Ohio where their daughter Debbie was born; followed by a return to Arizona where son James joined the family. Cindy, Debbie and James are the fifth generation of the Horrell family to live in Arizona with deep roots in the cattle industry.
In 1965 Jim had an opportunity to work at the Valley National Bank in the Livestock Department. In 1968 Earl suffered a stroke and was unable to run the ranch. Jim and Earline purchased the Cross P Ranch that belonged to Earline’s grandfather and the Half Diamond Cross Ranch of her parents. Jim and Earline’s children grew up on the family ranch twenty-five miles north of Globe. Earline taught third grade in Globe; commuting with her children between the ranch and the small house they kept in town. The siblings loved to ride horses together and help with chores on the ranch hauling water and feed to the cattle. Jim was active in the Arizona Cattle Grower’s Association. He chaired the Forest Advisory Board for the Tonto Forest as well as chairing the ACGA Forest Committee for many years.
Jim and Earline sold a portion of the ranch in 1982; maintaining the headquarters and some private land. In 1998, Jim and Earline sold the remaining property and built a home in Globe. All three of their children graduated from the University of Arizona. The Horrell/Tidwell Family received the U of A Family Heritage Award in 2016 from the College of Agriculture for four generations attending the U of A.
Their daughter Cindy has stayed involved with agriculture. She earned two Bachelor degrees from the University of Arizona; Business Management and Ag Economics. She later earned an MS degree from ASU in Agricultural Business. Cindy spent the first half of her career in Agricultural Banking and for the past twenty years she has been the Financial Controller for David and Chuck Feensta for their various agricultural operations. She has served as secretary-treasurer of many agriculture organizations through the years. In 2022, Arizona State Cowbelles named her Cattle Woman of the Year and the 2022 ANLS was dedicated to Cindy. She is married to Frank Shelton, formerly CEO for Ag New Mexico, a Farm Credit Bank. He remains involved with his family’s ranch operation in Willcox.
Affiliations
Earl Horrell
Gila County Cattle Growers
Arizona Cattle Growers’- President 1960-1961 Arizona National Livestock Show
Arizona Livestock Sanitary Board
Louis Horrell
Gila County Cattle Growers
Arizona Cattle Growers’ - President 1940-1941 Arizona National Livestock Show Arizona
Livestock Production Credit Association *President and one of founders
Jim Tidwell
Gila County Cattle Growers
Arizona Cattle Growers’
Arizona National Livestock Show Tonto Forest Advisory Board
Cindy Tidwell Shelton
Arizona National Livestock Show
Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association Gila County Cattle Growers
Arizona State Cowbelles
Arizona Historical League
Arizona Angus Association
Arizona Hereford Breeders
Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board
U of A – Ag 100 Council, National Alumni Board of Directors, College of Ag & Life Sciences Alumni Council
