Louis and Temple Abernathy have gone down in history as the boys who rode by horseback from Frederick, Okla., to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and back in 1910. While that might not seem like an amazing feat, Louis was 9 and temple was 5. In 1911, they accepted a challenge to ride horseback from New York to San Francisco in 60 days or less to win a $10,000 prize. The boys arrived in San Francisco after 62 days, losing the prize but setting a time record. They bought a small Brush Motor Car, which they drove, again by themselves, from New York City back to Oklahoma, shipping their horses home by train. In 1913, the pair purchased a motorcycle and rode from Oklahoma to New York City. This was their last documented adventure. By now you’re probably wondering where these boys’ parents were. Their father was a famous U.S. marshal and sheriff named Jack “Catch-Em Alive” Abernathy. Their mother died in 1907 after giving birth to the couple’s sixth child, and Jack raised the whole brood as a single father on their family ranch. The young brothers' first adventure was approved and encouraged by their father as a way to “toughen up” the young boys. As for their legacy, Louis graduated from the University of Oklahoma Law School and became a lawyer in Wichita Falls, Texas. He died in 1979. Temple worked in the oil and gas business and died in 1986. Although they were noted celebrities at the time of their travels, they have almost disappeared from history.
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| Jack with Louis (left) and Temple (right) |
