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A reader recently asked me something about the life of Col. Ralph Emerson Twitchell, a man who looms large in the writing of New Mexico history.
While I was thoroughly familiar with his books, it suddenly occurred to me that I knew little about the author. So I began scouting around to see what I could learn.
Of distinguished New England ancestry, but born in Michigan, Twitchell graduated from the University of Michigan with a law degree in 1882. Right away, he joined a prestigious law firm whose chief client was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co.
Sent to Santa Fe to handle a piece of business for the railroad, young Twitchell quickly became enamored of the place.
According to a popular story, he chanced to become acquainted with the dedicated archaeologist/historian Adolph Bandelier, who had only recently arrived in New Mexico.
In the beginning, Bandelier seems to have focused much of his attention on the brittle Spanish documents in the territorial archives. His infectious enthusiasm lured the green newcomer from Michigan into the close study of those papers.
While earning a living representing the interests of the railroad, Twitchell spent his free hours digging deeply into the archival resources,...