From George Coe’s book. ” …After the Harrolds returned to Texas, Dick Brewer, a prominent Lincoln County citizen, acquired the ranch in 1876, and it has been known for years as the Brewer Ranch...”

🪦 Brewer’s Personal Circumstances

• Brewer came from Illinois, later worked for John Chisum in New Mexico, and eventually set up his own small cattle ranch on the Rio Ruidoso.

• He was well respected, described by Frank Coe as “a man of sterling character.”

• He did not have a wife or children at the time of his death.

Brewers Ranch Deed Below

🔑 What this means:

After Dick Brewer’s death in April 1878, his ranch did not remain in the hands of the Regulators, the Coes, or his family back in Illinois. Instead, legal title was transferred a few years later (1881) to George B. Barber.

This suggests:

• Brewer’s estate went through probate (since he died without heirs locally, a court or administrator likely managed his property).

• By 1881, Barber acquired the land through a deed recorded in Lincoln County.

So, the Brewer Ranch ultimately passed into Barber’s ownership — not to any of Brewer’s Regulator friends or neighbors.

📜 Deed Record #2 Press to See Here

• Grantors: George B. Barber and Sue E. Barber

• Grantee: John W. Miller

• Instrument Type: QCD (Quitclaim Deed)

• Instrument Date: October 10, 1881

• Filed: November 12, 1881

• Property: Brewer Ranch (same legal description: parts of Sections 25–27, 34, Township 10S, Range 15E).

🔑 What this shows

• After acquiring Brewer’s ranch in May 1881, George B. Barber held it for only a few months.

• By October 1881, Barber and his wife conveyed the ranch to John W. Miller via quitclaim deed.

• A quitclaim deed often indicates a quick transfer without warranty of clear title — which makes sense if the property had a somewhat tangled origin after Brewer’s death.

🧩 The Chain So Far

1. Richard M. Brewer (d. 1878) — original owner.

2. May 23, 1881 → Brewer Ranch deeded to George B. Barber (recorded July 1881).

3. Oct 10, 1881 → Barber & wife quitclaim the Brewer Ranch to John W. Miller (recorded Nov 1881).

📜 Deed Record #3 See Here

• Grantors: Miller, John W. and Miller, A. M.

• Grantee: Isaac Ellis

• Instrument Type: Deed (specifically a Mortgage Deed)

• Instrument Date: December 28, 1881

• Filed: December 31, 1881

• Property: Brewer Ranch — parts of Sections 25–27, 34, Township 10S, Range 15E.

🔑 What This Means

• By late 1881, John W. Miller (who had obtained the Brewer Ranch via Barber just two months earlier) mortgaged the property to Isaac Ellis.

• This suggests Miller either needed financing or was already looking for a way out of the property.

• The mortgage deed indicates that Ellis had a financial stake/lien on the Brewer Ranch from that point onward.

🧩 The Updated Chain of Title

1. Richard M. Brewer (d. 1878) — original ranch owner.

2. May 23, 1881 → Brewer Ranch deeded to George B. Barber.

3. Oct 10, 1881 → Barber & wife quitclaim Brewer Ranch to John W. Miller.

4. Dec 28, 1881 → Miller & A. M. Miller mortgage Brewer Ranch to Isaac Ellis.

So by the very end of 1881, the Brewer Ranch had already passed through three different owners in less than a year, and was now encumbered by a mortgage held by Isaac Ellis.

📜 Deed Records (1909, all filed Dec. 27, 1909)

• Reception #190910420

  • Grantors: Charles Coe & Jasper N. Coe (deceased)

  • Grantee: Edward J. Coe

  • Property: Parts of Secs. 25–26, T10S, R15E

• Reception #190910421

  • Grantors: Benjamin Coe & Jasper N. Coe (deceased)

  • Grantee: Edward J. Coe

  • Property: Parts of Secs. 25–26

• Reception #190910422

  • Grantors: Jasper N. Coe (deceased) & Jessie King

  • Grantee: Edward J. Coe

  • Property: Parts of Secs. 25–26

• Reception #190910423

  • Grantors: Jasper N. Coe (deceased) & Ross E. Coe

  • Grantee: Edward J. Coe

  • Property: Parts of Secs. 25–26

🔑 What This Shows

• By 1909, the Brewer Ranch property (originally Dick Brewer’s holding in the Ruidoso Valley) was in the hands of various Coe family heirs, being consolidated into the ownership of Edward J. Coe.

• The legal descriptions (Secs. 25–26, T10S, R15E) match the same area cited in the 1881 Brewer → Barber → Miller → Ellis chain.

• Essentially, by the turn of the century, the Coe family absorbed Brewer’s old ranch lands into what became known historically as the Coe Ranch near Glencoe.

🧩 Complete Ownership Timeline (Simplified)

1. Dick Brewer (1870s) – original ranch owner.

2. Estate Sale (1881) – to George B. Barber.

3. Oct 1881 – Barber → John W. Miller.

4. Dec 1881 – Miller mortgages property to Isaac Ellis.

5. By late 19th c. – land fragments pass through Ellis and others.

6. 1909 – Coe family members (Charles, Benjamin, Ross, Jasper’s estate, Jessie King) consolidate deeds into Edward J. Coe.

📜 Additional Deeds

1. Reception #190910424 (Dec 1909)

   • Grantors: Jasper N. Coe (deceased) & Bertha Marable

   • Grantee: Edward J. Coe

   • Property: Parts of Secs. 25–26, T10S, R15E

2. Reception #190910425 (Dec 1909)

   • Grantors: Jasper N. Coe (deceased) & Lillie A. Jorgenson

   • Grantee: Edward J. Coe

   • Property: Parts of Secs. 25–26

3. Reception #189410270 (Sept 1894)

   • Grantor: Austin Coe

   • Grantee: Frank Coe

   • Property: Part of Sec. 25

4. Reception #191810636 (Filed 1918; Instrument 1893!)

   • Grantors: Ada Coe & Jasper N. Coe

   • Grantees: Ella Coe & Frank Coe

   • Property: Part of Sec. 25

5. Reception #191010173 (Feb 1910)

   • Grantors: Harvey Coe, Jasper N. Coe (deceased), George B. Barber (guardian)

   • Grantee: Frank B. Coe

   • Property: Part of Sec. 25

6. Reception #191010069 (Mar 1910)

   • Grantors: Sadie B. Brown & Edward J. Coe

   • Grantee: Frank B. Coe

   • Property: Part of Sec. 25

🔑 What This Means

• After Brewer’s ranch was sold off in the early 1880s (Brewer → Barber → Miller → Ellis), the Coe family gradually acquired the land piecemeal.

• By the 1890s, Frank Coe already owned parts of Section 25 (from Austin Coe, 1894).

• In the early 1900s (1909–1910), multiple heirs of Jasper N. Coe (and others tied to the Brewer land) deeded their shares to Edward J. Coe and Frank B. Coe.

• This shows the Coes were actively consolidating title to the old Brewer Ranch into their family holdings.

• By 1910, Frank Coe, Edward J. Coe, and Frank B. Coe were the controlling owners — essentially transforming the former Brewer Ranch into what became known as the Coe Ranch at Glencoe.

🧩 Full Arc of Ownership

1. 1870s — Dick Brewer establishes ranch on the Rio Ruidoso.

2. 1878 — Brewer killed at Blazer’s Mill.

3. 1881 — Ranch sold via probate to George B. Barber → John W. Miller → mortgaged to Isaac Ellis.

4. 1890s — Coe family (Frank, Austin, Jasper, etc.) begins acquiring parcels.

5. 1909–1910 — Multiple heirs consolidate deeds to Edward J. Coe & Frank B. Coe.

6. By 1910s — The Coe Ranch is firmly in family hands, retaining its historic identity into the 20th century.

✅ In short: The Brewer Ranch ultimately became the Coe Ranch.

📜 Brewer Ranch Ownership Timeline

1. Dick Brewer (1870s–1878)

• Brewer established his ranch in the Agua Felix area (near Ruidoso).

• It became a gathering place for his friends and neighbors, including the Coes, Doc Scurlock, and Charlie Bowdre.

• Brewer was killed at Blazer’s Mill, April 4, 1878, during the Lincoln County War.

2. Alexander McSween, Administrator (1878)

• After Brewer’s death, Alexander McSween was appointed administrator of Brewer’s estate.

• McSween did not keep it as his personal ranch, but managed its affairs legally.

3. Miller (Late 1878–Early 1880s)

• The property then became the home of a man identified only as Miller in George Coe’s autobiography.

• Likely a short-term holder or tenant during the estate transition.

4. Frank Coe (By mid-1880s)

• Frank Coe purchased the Brewer Ranch outright.

• George notes that his own place and the Bonnell Ranch were originally part of Brewer’s ranch.

5. George Coe & Bonnell Ranch (Late 1800s)

• George Coe wrote that in time, all of the Brewer Ranch land “belonged to the Coe families.”

• The ranch became absorbed into two main branches:

  • George Coe’s holdings

  • The Bonnell Ranch, tied to the Coe family

✅ Summary Chain:
Dick Brewer (founder) → Alexander McSween (administrator) → Miller (temporary occupant) → Frank Coe (purchaser) → absorbed into Coe family lands (George Coe & Bonnell Ranch).

From George Coe’s book. ” We arrived on the Ruidoso November 15, 1884. One year before this, Frank Coe had returned to this section and purchased the old Dick Brewer Ranch. The land had not been surveyed, so he had bought a squatter’s rights. His brother, Jasper Coe, had gone to California when we went East, and Frank now informed him that he had a big tract of land, and that if Jasper wished to return he could have half of it. He returned in the spring, and both were on the ground when I arrived. I was prospecting for a ranch, so we three agreed to farm the old Brewer place. Delaney, post trader at Fort Stanton, suggested that we plant oats and get a Government contract to supply Fort Stanton. This we did. Fortune favored us again, crops were excellent, and the oat contract turned out to be as profitable as Delaney had prophesied. I was still hankering for a home of my own. We knew there was enough land in this tract for all three of us to have a homestead, as a hundred and sixty acres apiece was all we could take up. We talked it over, and Jap Coe told me that he had bought part of it from Frank. He said that if I wanted to go up to the point where my present home stands and put in my homestead, it suited him all right. There was a little patch of tillable land, about eight or ten acres, and I proposed to him that I would give him a good span of mules in return for this tract. We traded. My wife and I came up and located our home site. It was ten years before the Government surveyor came and surveyed the place. When he did, we found more than enough land for the three homesteads.

Below is how the Brewer’s  Ranch ownership was in the 1880s

From a Facebook posting: