Samuel Burk Burnett
| Samuel Burk Burnett | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 1, 1849 Bates County, Missouri |
| Died |
June 27, 1922 Fort Worth, Texas |
| Occupation | Cattleman, rancher |
| Title | Captain |
| Spouse(s) |
Ruth B. Loyd Mary Couts Burnett |
| Children | 4, including Thomas Lloyd Burnett and Burk Burnett, Jr. |
| Parent(s) |
Jeremiah Burnett Mary (Turner) Burnett |
| Relatives |
Bruce Burnett (brother) Martin B. Lloyd (father-in-law) Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy (granddaughter) Anne Windfohr Marion (great-granddaughter) |
Samuel Burk Burnett (1849–1922) was an American cattleman and rancher from Texas.
Biography
Early life
Samuel Burk Burnett was born on January 1, 1849 in Bates County, Missouri.[1][2] His father, Jeremiah Burnett, was a farmer.[1][2] His mother was Mary (Turner) Burnett.[1][2] He had a brother, Bruce Burnett, who later became a rancher in his own right.[3] In 1857-1858, the family moved into a house by the Denton Creek in Denton County, Texas, where his father became a cattleman.[1][2] It was then that Burnett, only ten years of age, learned ranching from his father.[4]
Career
In 1868, at the age of nineteen, he purchased one hundred head of cattle which were branded '6666,' from Frank Crowley[1][3] During the Panic of 1873, he drove 1,100 steers to Wichita, Kansas and sold them for US$10,000 in 1874, thus making a fortune for the time.[1] Later that year, he purchased 1,300 more cattle and drove them along the Chisholm Trail to the open range land by the Little Wichita River.[1] He purchased land near Wichita Falls, Texas, before the town was built.[1] Due to the droughts of the 1880s, he moved his cattle to the Big Pasture in southwestern Oklahoma.[1] He rented 300,000 acres of land, where his 10,000 head of cattle grazed.[1] Meanwhile, his son Thomas worked as a cowhand on the Big Pasture.[5]
In 1900, he purchased the 8 Ranch, later known as the 6666 Ranch, near Guthrie, Texas, from the Louisville Land and Cattle Company.[1][4] He also acquired the Dixon Creek Ranch near Panhandle, Texas.[1] In 1917, he built a ranchhouse in Guthrie.[1] It was designed by architects Sanguiner and Staats and cost US$100,000.[1] Guests included President Theodore Roosevelt and comedian Will Rogers.[1] Four years later, in 1921, shortly before his death, oil was discovered near the Dixon Creek on his 6666 Ranch.[1]
Burnett also served on the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Fort Worth.[1] He was also President of the Ardmore Oil and the Gin Milling Company.[1]
Personal life
He first married Ruth B. Lloyd, the daughter of Martin B. Lloyd, founder of the First National Bank of Fort Worth.[1] They had three sons, two of whom died.[1] Their third son, Thomas Lloyd Burnett, became a rancher.[1] The couple divorced.[1]
His second marriage was to Mary Couts Burnett in 1892.[1] They had a son, Burk Burnett, Jr., who died in 1917.[4] They resided in Fort Worth, Texas.[1] However, he disinherited her and had her committed in a mental asylum. After his death, she sued and managed to secure a settlement of several million dollars, but did not inherit his ranching or oil concerns.
Death
He died on June 27, 1922 in Fort Worth, Texas.[1]
Legacy
His ranching and oil interests were held in trust until his granddaughter, Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy, received her inheritance in 1922.[1] In 1980, it was inherited by his great-granddaughter, Anne Windfohr Marion, who serves as the President of Burnett Ranches and Chairman of the Burnett Oil Company.[1]
The town of Burkburnett in Wichita County, Texas was named in his honor by President Theodore Roosevelt.[1] Indeed, the president had been coyote and wolf hunting there with Burnett before the town was established.[1] As a result, the president's suggestion stuck, immortalizing Burnett's name in this location.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 6666 Ranch: Burnett family
- 1 2 3 4 David Minor, "BURNETT, SAMUEL BURK," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbu80), accessed November 09, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- 1 2 H. Allen Anderson, "FOUR SIXES RANCH," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/apf01), accessed November 09, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
- 1 2 3 6666 Ranch, American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum
- ↑ H. Allen Anderson, "BURNETT, THOMAS LLOYD," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbu98), accessed November 11, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.