When we trace our roots across the American West, we often look for the gear that defined the era—the Visalia saddles, the mecate reins, the trail iron. Every now and then, though, you find out that the ultimate symbol of the American West was invented by a cousin.
Genealogy continually reminds us that history isn't just something we read about—it's something our kin built with their own hands. In the 1860s, our 6th cousin 5x removed, John Batterson Stetson (1830–1906), looked out across the Western frontier, noticed that every cowboy on the range was wearing terrible headwear, and decided to invent a legend: the Stetson cowboy hat.
John Batterson Stetson
From New Jersey Millwrighting to Pikes Peak Born in New Jersey as the 8th of 12 children, John learned the hatter’s trade from his father, Stephen Stetson. However, as a young man, he was hit with a devastating tuberculosis diagnosis. Doctors predicted he had only a short time to live. Deciding to see the West before his time ran out, John headed toward Pikes Peak, Colorado. Along the trail, he fell in with drovers, bullwhackers, and gold seekers. As a trained hatter, he took one look at the headwear on the trail—flea-infested coonskin caps, wool derbies, and soggy straw hats—and realized none of them were fit for the elements. Using beaver fur and waterproof felt techniques he'd mastered back East, Stetson fashioned a lightweight, all-weather hat with a broad four-inch brim and a four-inch crown during his Western trek.  The Birth of the "Boss of the Plains" In 1865, regaining his health and settling in Philadelphia, Stetson began manufacturing his design under the name "Boss of the Plains." It wasn't just fashion; it was the ultimate multi-tool of the frontier trail:
Stetson embossed his name in gold inside every sweatband. Almost overnight, "a Stetson" became the universal name for quality headwear across the West, worn by everyone from Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley to the Texas Rangers, U.S. Cavalry, and generations of working cowpunchers. The Crandall Connection: How We Share the Trail Our shared bloodline traces back through our Rhode Island roots to Elder John Crandall (1612–1676), an early pioneer of Westerly, Rhode Island. From there, the Crandall bloodline splits into two branches: one leading down through the Saunders and Stetson families to John B. Stetson, and the other leading down through the Braman and Brayman lines directly to my maternal Bailey branch.
Elder John Crandall (1612–1676) [Our Common 6th Great-Grandfather] | +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+ | | Joseph Crandall (1661–1737) Jane Crandall (1653–1718) | | Thankful Crandall (1690–1712) Jane Babcock (1670–1730) | | Thankful Saunders (1712–1782) James Braman (1697–1739) | | Stephen Stetson (1747–1777) Soloman Braman (1723–1790) | | Stephen Stetson (1773–1820) William Braman (1753–1804) | | Stephen Stetson (1796–1878) Waterman F. Brayman (1786–1865) | | JOHN BATTERSON STETSON (1830–1906) Elvira W. Brayman (1822–1909) [Inventor of the Cowboy Hat] | [6th Cousin 5x Removed] Marcus M. Pierce (1842–1882) | Lillian Amanda Pierce (1867–1957) | Velma Veda Bailey (1914–2004) | DRIFTING COWBOY Thank you Gemini AI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy Checkout some Stetson advertising across the years… |
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