James Dutton circa 1883.
James Dutton (1840-1893) was a farmer from Tennessee who would move out west with his family and would establish the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch near Bozeman, Montana in 1883. He served in the Confederate States Army and fought at the Battle of Antietam, where he was captured by the Army of the Potomac forces led by George Meade, and was held prisoner for three years. He is the great-grandfather of John Dutton III.
Journey Westward:[]
In 1883, James Dutton, along with his with Margret, sister Claire, daughter Elsa, and young son John, traveled west to Texas from their failing farm in Tennessee. After fighting off bandits, James ran into Pinkertons detectives Shea Brennan and his friend Thomas, and he would meet up with them in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was given the opportunity to travel with the wagon train of German Immigrants that was traveling to Oregon. James Dutton would help Shea Brennan and Thomas protect the wagon train while also protecting his family from a wide array of threats, including bandits and Native Americans. During one battle with the Lakota, Sioux tribe, whose people were murdered by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, his 17 year old daughter Elsa Dutton, was wounded with a poisoned arrow that would eventually kill her. When the wagon train stopped off in Montana at a Fort, The Dutton's chose to remain in Montana, in order to find a place to bury Elsa when she died, and to establish a home, while Shea Brennan led the survivors on to Oregon.