Biographies

Pima County, Arizona
Biographies

Ben J. McKinney
1883

Ben McKinney is known in Arizona not only as a cowman but also as a United States Marshal and Sheriff. For nearly 20 years he served as U. S. Marshal for the District of Arizona, being appointed to that position in 1955 and retired in 1954.
In January 1955 he was appointed Sheriff of Pima county, which office he holds at this writing.

He was born December 28. 1883 at Uvalde. Texas, the son of Rufus McKinney, a cattleman, who moved his family to Bowie. Arizona in 1892.

Here Ben soon took active range work with cattle and knew all tinoutfits in Cochise county. While still a young man he acquired the Lite ranch south of Cochise and east of the Dragoons. He was instrumental in organizing the Cochise County Cattle Growers' Association and was its President in 1912.

In 1919 he acquired the Ventana ranch in the then newly created Papago reservation and developed it into a fine spread that was visited by many distinguished guests, he was one of the first to introduce Brahma stock in that region.

While operating the Ventana, Ben made range inspections all over Arizona for financial institutions and also bought and fed a great many cattle at Phoenix and Yuma, and in 1921 was Chairman of the Livestock Sanitary Board.

That was the year the foot and mouth disease broke out in California and several thousand cattle were slaughtered then. Ben headed the committee that went to Sacramento to confer with California authorities on the situation. The result was
the establishment of border disinfecting Stations where all cars were disinfected and all passengers were required to walk through treated sawdust. Traffic from California dwindled to almost nothing but the disease was kept out of the state.

In 1934 the government bought the Ventana ranch with its 125 miles of fence, deep wells and other improvements, and included it in the Papago reservation. The following year Ben became U. S. Marshal.

Ben McKinney married Mayela Tidd and they now make their home in Tucson where Ben is one of the last of the old-time cowmen sheriffs.

Carlos Ronstadt
1903-

Carlos Ronstadt, who was President of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association 1948-1950, has been associated with the cattle business almost from the time of his birth in Tucson on August 25, 1903.

Cattle are in his blood on both his father's and mother's side; his mother's grandfather was one of the early California rancheros, while his father, Joe Ronstadt, was born on a cattle ranch about 60 miles, below the border at Altar, Sonora.

In 1905 Carlos' father founded the Baboquivari Cattle Company on the east side of the Baboquivaris. He later acquired part of the La Osa and other properties, and began buying Mexican cattle to place on the Arizona holdings. When he went to gather these cattle, he found they had apparently been swallowed by other brands.

However, the outfit grew despite the setbacks. And by the time young Carlos was of ropin' age. the Santa Margarita Ranch was one of the big outfits of the Baboquivari country,

Carlos worked with the cattle during the summers and attended school in the winters. After his graduation from the University of Arizona, where he received a degree in Agricultural Marketing, he worked with Armour & Company for two years. Then, with a well-rounded education in the meat producing business, he returned to the Baboquivari Ranch to become active in improving the quality of the cattle.

In 1928, Carlos married Elizabeth Graves, a University schoolmate, from Phoenix. They have a six-year-old daughter, Nina, and a son. Karl G., who's now with the U. S. Air Force at Cheyenne, Wyoming. And Carlos takes great pride in the fact that his grandson. Carlos Dalton Ronstadt, is the fifth generation of Ronstadts born in Tucson.

Since his father's death in 1933. Carlos has acquired a ranch on the Santa Cruz River at Amado where he raises cotton, alfalfa, corn and barley, and operates a modern feed lot to fatten cattle from the Baboquivari range.

With Carlos' paternal grandfather having been born in Germany and married in Sonora. and with his maternal ancestors of California Spanish and English blood, he asks. "What am I?"

Abbie Keith. Secretary of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association, answers: "AN AMERICAN For America is a fusion of . . . pioneer-spirited souls of every land!"