A year or so ago, I spent some time in Holbrook, Arizona taking pictures of the old buildings and learning more about Holbrook’s part in the sheep business. I was curious about the A. & B. Schuster store but at the time was told they were not in the sheep business only sold mutton in the mercantile store in Holbrook. In a recent newspaper search from various newspapers and relooking at an old one, The Holbrook Argus, 1897, this information was found.
A & B. Schuster was the name the two brothers used for their mercantile store. Adolph and Ben were natives of Westphalia, Germany. They settled in Holbrook in 1885 after various business enterprises in New and Old Mexico. They had a lot of sheep at one point, 5,000 to be exact as they were assessed by the Board of Equalization of Apache County for $6,500 on them as reported by the St. Johns Herald, July 1895. In October of 1895, they trailed the 5,000 sheep to Las (sic) Vegas, New Mexico. Their names appear on Bert Haskett’s list of sheep owners in Arizona for the time period 1891-1906 from Apache County.
As more research is completed, I am sure there will be more information about the Schusters.
ArizonaSheepHistory.wordpress.com 