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Susan McSween (née Hummer; December 30, 1845 – January 3, 1931) was a prominent cattlewoman of the 19th century, once called the "Cattle Queen of New Mexico", and the widow of Alexander McSween, a leading factor in the Lincoln County War, who was shot and killed by members of the Lawrence Murphy faction.
Problems between the two factions began there, and on February 18, 1878, outlaw Jesse Evans and members of his gang working with "the boys" from the rival faction of James Dolan also known as The Santa Fe Ring, shot and killed Tunstall, which sparked the Lincoln County War. By that time, Tunstall and McSween had hired gunfighter to counter those hired by Murphy-Dolan. While the latter had hired outlaw gangs like the Seven Rivers Warriors, John Kinney Gang, and the Jesse Evans Gang, Tunstall hired individuals, to include Billy the Kid, Chavez y Chavez, Dick Brewer, Charlie Bowdre, Doc Scurlock and others. The two factions clashed over Tunstall's death, with numerous people being killed by both sides culminating in the Battle of Lincoln, in which Susan McSween was present. Her husband was killed at the end of that battle, despite his being unarmed and attempting to surrender.
Susan McSween hired Lawyer Huston Chapman to pursue charges against those responsible for her husband's death and had him assist in negotiating with Governor Lew Wallace on amnesty for the Lincoln County Regulators who had defended her husband and sought vengeance for Tunstall's death. Colonel Nathan Dudley was one of her main targets, and he did stand trial, but was acquitted. Lawrence Murphy had died before the end of 1878, and James Dolan was charged in Tunstall's murder, but acquitted, and could never be linked directly to Alex McSween's murder. Jesse Evans killed Chapman, then fled the territory, after which eventually the whole matter simply went away.
Susan took over 1,158 acres of land on the West side of the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in the years after the Lincoln County War ended. By 1890 she had expanded the acreage of the ranch and ran at least 5,000 head of cattle under the Three Rivers Cattle Company brand in Three Rivers. By some estimates she owned upward of 8,000 By the mid-1890s her ranch holdings were some of the largest in the territory. She became extremely wealthy through cattle sales and mining a small silver vein on the property. She was also known for the fruit orchards she planted with trees she obtained from John Chisum.
On April 21, 1892, the Old Abe Eagle of Lincoln reported that she had driven 700 to 800 cattle from her ranch to Engle, the most accessible railroad point, from which place they were shipped "in 38 foot New England Cars" to the Jones and Nolan feed lots in Grand Summit and Strong City, Kansas.
The New York Commercial Advertiser said:
"Near the town of White Oaks, New Mexico, lives one of the most remarkable women of this remarkable age, at the present time a visitor in this city (New York). The house in which she lives ; a low, whitewashed adobe building, is covered with green vines and fitted out with rich carpets, artistic hangings, books and pictures, exquisite china and silver, and all the dainty belongings with which a refined woman wishes to surround herself. The house was built with her own hands. The huge ranch on which it is located with its 8,000 cattle, is managed entirely by her. It is she who buys or takes up the land, selects and controls the men, buys, sells and transfers the cattle. She is also a skillful and intelligent prospector, and found the valuable silver mine on her territory in which she now holds a half interest."William Aloysius Kelleher (2025). 9780865346222, University of New Mexico Press. . ISBN 9780865346222
She died from pneumonia, an impoverished woman in White Oaks, on January 3, 1931, aged 85, and is buried there in the Cedarvale Cemetery.
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