History
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C.M. Largent Sr - born in 1863- is the beginning of our legacy. Raised in Texas, he started a commercial cattle ranching operation in Merkel, and started the switch in 1902 to purebred registered Hereford cattle. C.M. passed away in 1938, shutting down the entire town out of respect of such a loyal and upstanding man.
Early bloodlines during C.M. Sr.'s life included:
Upon his passing, the ranch was left to C.M.'s son Roy Largent - born in 1902. Roy and his wife, Hazel, had two sons David and Rust. Both boys would carry on the tradition of registered Hereford cattle and continue the legacy of the Largent name, soon allowing the family to be known for their outstanding seed stock cattle among all American Hereford producers. As time passed, David took the role of showing cattle at 32 major shows in the U.S. in 1 year, setting a new pace for cattle ranchers everywhere. The ranch was soon known as "Largent and Sons" to be ran by Roy Largent's sons as time went on. David handled the purebred side of the operation, while Rust spent his time managing the commercial cattle. With Coast-to-Coast show ring advertising, Largent and Sons made some outstanding sales, including a $25,000 bull and a $8,500 heifer sold 1953 at a Denver sale. In 1954, Roy dispersed his heard, and passed shortly there after in 1968. He was elected to the Hereford Heritage Hall in 1978. David and Roy ran the ranch together as a family in Texas until 1970. Soon after, David and his wife, Freda, moved to Wilsall, Montana along with their sons Steve and Mark and Mark's new bride Cathy to start a new ranch. Upon the move, David became a prestigious cattle show judge. He judged at Registered Merit shows all over the U.S. and the Calgary Bull Sale - the largest sale in Canada. In 1979, David was elected to the Board of Directors for the American Hereford Association, and went on to be the President in 1981, when he was also enshrined into the Montana State Fair Hall of Fame. Wanting to expand their herd, the Largent family looked to Kaycee, Wyoming, where they moved in 1989. As Steve started experiencing health problems, he moved his family to Arizona, and Mark took on a more managerial role on the ranch. The '90s marked a change in the cattle industry, cattlemen and the Largent family. With less focus on the show ring, David and Mark began to focus on carcass, traits of reproduction, performance and efficiency in the feedlot. Meanwhile, Freda kept the ranch afloat with her duties as wife, mother, cook, bookkeeper, coordinator, advisor, and stabilizer of the entire operation. She kept true to David's motto, "No man is better than the woman behind him." Before Davids passing in 2003, he and Freda moved to Glenrio, New Mexico with their oldest son Steve and his family. Freda still resides there today. Mark Largent has worked hard to carry on the Largent and Sons family tradition. He has had the privilege of serving two terms as President of the Wyoming Hereford Association. Mark has also supported the Junior Hereford activities in Wyoming and Montana, and has also been a part of the judges' guild and judged the junior heifer show at the National Western Stock Show (Denver) and the North American Livestock Exposition (Kentucky), along with many regional shows. Mark strives to keep his personal focus on God, family and his church members, while maintaining focus on the ranch and the promotion of the Hereford breed. His wife, Cathy, took her place alongside Mark running the operation when David and Freda retired and has stepped up to the tasks of wife, mother, cook, bookkeeper, coordinator, advisor and stabilizer, and loyal pastor's wife. Anyone who has come to know her knows that she is the hardest working person they had ever met. Mark once said that he couldn't leave Texas without her, and she has surely showed everyone why. Mark and Cathy have three children: David, Laura, and Sherry. The three kids brought back the tradition of showing again, when they were able to show by themselves, and made numberous regional shows during their junior high and high school years. In 1994, David married his wife Heather and a year later, they made their way to Texas, where David attended Wayland Baptist University and Heather finished out high school. With a Bachelors degree in hand, David and Heather returned home to help with the family ranch. Together, they have four children: Jordan, Kelley, Mark G. and Nathan. David and Heather still remain on the ranch with Mark and Cathy, and David plays a large role in the managerial part of the operation. David attended the Wyoming Leadership Education in Agriculture Development (LEAD), and has been on the Youth Advisory Board to the Board of Agriculture. In August of 1996, Laura married Toby Pierson - a Kaycee resident and local rancher. Toby and Laura pursued college, but soon home and cattle called them back to what they love the most. They lived and worked on the ranch for a time before acquiring their own property east of Kaycee and named it the T. Pierson Cattle Company. Outside of the ranch, Toby is an experienced truck driver and equipment operator; in addition to his many other endeavors he is all employed full time as a dragline oiler at Black Thunder Mine. Together, Toby and Laura have two children: Tinley and Vaun. In July of 2000, Sherry married Brad Christensen - a Kaycee resident and son of the local veterinarian. Brad swept Sherry off to Fort Collins for college where he would study to also become a veterinarian. He spent nine years in school gaining two Bachelors Degrees and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. In 2003, Brad and Sherry accepted a small animal veterinary job in Las Vegas, NV. Brad has gone on two overseas mission trips - 1 to Africa and one to Egypt with his brother-in-law David Largent. Brad went back to school, and is currently an intricate part of the USDA in Kansas. Brad and Sherry have three children: Devan, Trevor and Gage. Largent and Sons has grown not only in family but in the Hereford industry, now residing on I-25 South of Kaycee. Mark has been blending and crossing pedigrees to find the most suitable combinations, which is why we developed "Desert Mart." We are known for carcass, maternal ability, performance in any condition, reproductive ability, eye pigment, and even polled genetics. Recently, David and Heathers oldest son, Jordan has married his new wife, Victoria. They have moved out to the ranch, in their own house. In July 2020 they had a wonderful son, Jethro. David and Heather's Daughter, Kelley, also married recently, a man named Christian Spencer. Kelley is spending her time running the daycare in Kaycee and helping at the ranch while Christain works in construction. They have an energetic son, Evander, born in August 2017 and a beautiful daughter born June 2020, Charolette "Charlie". Here at Largent's we are striving to be that family run business of integrity, loyalty to each other and the Hereford breed, and have something for everyone in the cattle industry. Please stop by and visit us at the ranch, call us on the telephone, write us a note. We would love to hear from you! |
Mark and Cathy Largent.
Largent Family in Fort Davis, Texas 2019.
Left to Right: Christian Spencer, Kelley Spencer, Evander Largent, Mark G. Largent, David Largent, Nathan Largent, Heather Largent, Jordan Largent, Victoria Largent
Pierson Family in Fort Davis, Texas 2019.
From Left to Right: Toby, Laura, Tinley, and Vaun
Christensen Family in Fort Davis, Texas 2019.
From Left to Right: Devan, Sherry, Gage (center), Brad and Trevor
Charolette "Charlie" Ray Ann Spencer
Jethro Morgan Largent
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