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Ambitious adventurer had a head for biz
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ames Wiley Magoffin and four traveling companions were arrested as spies in New Mexico on Sep. 27, 1846 and detained for the duration of the Mexican War.
Why the oldest of ten children left Kentucky in the early 1820’s is unclear. The most logical explanation is that he wanted to make his own way in the world without having to answer to a rich and overbearing father.
Instead of heading west into the American wilderness, Magoffin chose a different land of opportunity &nd...