How Two Young Boys Traveled From Oklahoma To New York Alone

You seldom see children traveling by themselves in Oklahoma. It's not a common practice in America to send kids anywhere unsupervised. Even walking to school or waiting at the bus stop has become a daily activity with a parent. But in the early 1900s, two young boys from Oklahoma traveled across the country multiple times without supervision.

They're collectively known as "The Abernathy Boys." Louis "Bud" Abernathy and Temple "Temp" Abernathy were two boys from Frederick, Oklahoma, and were known to take many adventures across the country with just the two of them. Their most notable trip was when they traveled from Oklahoma to New York to meet President Theodore Roosevelt.

The Father 'Catch-'em-alive Jack'

The boys seemed to have inherited their adventurous spirit from their father, Jack Abernathy, better known as "Catch-'em-alive Jack," who caught wolves by his bare hands. He supported his family through this endeavor by selling the wolves to traveling shows, which is how he caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt.

The President was impressed and amused by Jack's ability that he invited him on a wolf hunt, and by the end of the hunt, Jack and President Roosevelt had become friends. And in 1906 President Roosevelt made Jack the federal U.S. Marshall over the Oklahoma Territory - he was the youngest U.S. Marshall in history at age 28.

The Adventures of Bud and Temp

Bud and Temp grew up in southwest Oklahoma with their father Jack after their mother passed away in 1907. The boys were curious and adventurous, just like their father. One of their first unsupervised trips was in 1909 and they rode their horses, unsupervised, from Frederick, Oklahoma, to Santa Fe, New Mexico - Bud was 9 and Temp was 5.

The next year was when the boys made their famous trip from Oklahoma to New York City. They planned to meet up with their father's friend President Theodore Roosevelt after his trip in Africa and Europe. When they arrived in New York City, they were celebrated upon their arrival and took part in a ticker-tape parade, following behind President Roosevelt.

Before they returned home, they loaded their horses on a train and purchased a Brush Motor Car and drove it by themselves back to Oklahoma.

Other documented trips of Bud and Temp was their journey to San Francisco and again to New York City. In 1911, they were to travel 60 days to San Francisco on a bet for $10,000. They made it in 62 days, losing the prize money but set a record. Their second trip to New York City was in 1923 and was done on an Indian motorcycle. This was their last recorded trip.

Abernathy History

Today, the Abernathy brothers are forever enshrined in Frederick, Oklahoma, with a statue of the two boys in front of the Tillman County Courthouse.

And an exhibit about their life features an exact replica of the same Brush Motor Car the brothers bought in New York during their 1910 adventure. The exhibit is located at the Pioneer Heritage Townsite Museum in Frederick.

Abernathy Books

You can read more about the Abernathy family online at the Tillman County Historical Society's website. There is also a book available with more stories about the adventurous brothers titled "Bud & Me," plus many others listed on the Tillman County Historical Society's website.