Hooves and Heritage

by Aaryn Degn, Archivist-Museum Curator
Sam Houston Regional Library & Research Center

A special exhibit, "Hooves and Heritage: Ranching in Southeast Texas," will run through November 2000 at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty, Texas. The exhibit features artifacts, original documents, and photographs that document the history of ranching in Southeast Texas. Objects and records on display date from 1831 to 1998. Noteworthy items in the exhibit include cattle records and branding irons; cattleman's gear; artwork by Frank Abshier; twelve saddles, including two sidesaddles, a child's saddle, and one owned by Governor Price Daniel; a saddle blanket presented to G.T.J. Hardeman by General Sam Houston; a public notice posted in the Atascosito District by the Municipality of Nava in 1831 listing stray livestock and their brands; and spurs, including some made by John Henry Key.

Cattle ranching has been one of Southeast Texas's largest industries since the eighteenth century. The first cattle in Texas were brought here in the 1690s by Spaniards. The Spanish cattle, possibly Andalusian stock, were tough; they survived and flourished, roaming freely in the Texas wilderness. When the first Anglo-Americans began moving into Texas in the early nineteenth century, they brought with them English cattle, especially Longhorn Herefords and the English Bakewell stock. The Texas longhorn emerged as a hybrid breed caused by the random mixing of Spanish criollo cattle and the English cattle brought by the Anglo-Americans. Modern scholars place the beginnings of the Texas ranching industry in the Southeast Texas-southwestern Louisiana region. In the early days of cattle ranching, cattle roamed the open range, grazing for food. Because there were no enclosures within which to keep one's herd, ranchers adopted the Spanish way of identifying their cattle: branding. The brand, registered by county in Texas after 1836, showed ownership and helped prevent theft. The end of the open range came after the invention of barbed wire in 1874; the first barbed wire fence in Southeast Texas was built by James Taylor White, Jr. in the 1880s. Despite the fencing of property, ranchers continue to brand their cattle today as a means of identifying their stock. The first ranchers in Southeast Texas did not drive their cattle to market in the north; instead, cattle were driven to New Orleans. The major cattle trail was the Atascosito/Opelousas Road, an east-west Indian trail in Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas. An alternate route, the Old Beef Road, crossed through the northern portions of Jasper and Newton Counties on its way to Louisiana. The cattle drive was an arduous undertaking, but well worth the effort, as cattle sold in New Orleans for more than twice what they brought in Texas. Cattle were also transported to New Orleans via steamboat. In the 1880s, the railroad began to replace the dusty cattle trail as the primary means of transporting cattle to market in Louisiana.

For over 200 years, cattle ranching has been an important industry in Southeast Texas. Historically, ranchers in this area have raised large numbers of cattle; according to the 1856 tax rolls, Jefferson and Liberty counties ranked as the second and third largest cattle-raising counties in the state, respectively. In the past, women and African-Americans played important, if perhaps less known, roles on the ranch. Slaves were used as drovers and herders on roundups and cattle drives, and women often controlled ranches when widowed. Today, women ranchers are more common in Southeast Texas and African-Americans continue to work as ranchers, cowboys, and cow hands.

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Contributors and Donors

Many of the items on display come from the following major collections: Benjamin Franklin Abshier, Jr. Family Collection, Leila Boyt Jeffrey Collection, Governor Bill Daniel Collection, Don Kelly Southeast Texas Post Card Collection, J. H. Manthey "Cleveland Advocate" Collection, Watson A. Neyland Collection, W. D.Partlow Collection, Pickett Family Photographic Archives, Tennie Bell Sloan Collection, and Julia Duncan Welder Collection.

We appreciate the following donors, whose generous donations helped make this exhibit possible: Dana Abshier, Barbers Hill Mont Belvieu Museum, Mary Elizabeth Gay Bennett, Barbara Fitzgerald Benson, Bobbie Blake, Anna Lou Palmer & Bill Brett, Otis Perry Cessna, Mary Cobb (Newton County Clerk), Houston & Charlotte Daniel, Jean Houston Daniel, Charles W. Fisher, Jr., James E. Fregia, Mary Welder Gay, Donece Gregory (Tyler County Clerk), A. J. Guedry, Dee Hatton (Hardin County Clerk), Lanelle Abshier Jolley, Ann Welder Jolly, Carlton Jones, John Henry Key, Peggy Lopez, Wilma McCreight, Jeff Oran Meacham, Catherine J. Merchant, Maxine Merchant, Barbara Middleton (Polk County Clerk), Debbie Newman (Jasper County Clerk), Mr. & Mrs. Allen Neyland, Howard Oldham, Dick Partlow, Dozier Partlow, Sam Partlow, Ben & Ellen Pickett, Norma Rowland (Chambers County Clerk), Christine Moor Sanders, Earl F. Scott, Delia Sellers (Liberty County Clerk), Michael Shannon, Robert Shivers, E. B. Stephenson, Zachary Taylor, C.C. Thornton, Mary Welder Urban, Karen Jo Vance (Orange County Clerk), Charlene Vann (San Jacinto County Clerk), Sandy Walker (Jefferson County Clerk), Rosella Welder, William Duncan Welder, Jr., Mrs. Jessie Wood, Pat Worthy, and Horace & Geraldine Young.
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Exhibit Highlights

From Horace and Geraldine Young:
Three Harmon saddles, used by Slick Young, Bill Cessna, and E. J. Cessna, c. late 19th century, 1939, & 1915, respectively.

From the W. D. Partlow Collection:
Photographs of ranchers, ranch hands, and cattle.

From Gov. Bill Daniel:
Set of spurs, c. 1970, made by John Henry Key.

From Bill Brett:
Metal rasp, c. 1940; used to cut horse hooves.
Quirt, c. 1950, made by Cliff Williamson. A quirt, used as a signaling device with horses, is especially useful when breaking a horse.

From Ben Pickett:
Pair of boots, c. 1929, worn by Ben Pickett as a child.

From the Don Kelly Southeast Texas Post Card Collection:
Postcards depicting ranching in southeast Texas.

From Otis Perry Cessna:
Frank Abshier painting, 1966; depicts rodeo/ranching scene.

From the Julia Duncan Welder Collection:
Sidesaddle, c. mid-19th century.
Branding iron with "BD" brand, c. 1860-1867; iron belonged to William B. Duncan of Liberty.

From Houston and Charlotte Daniel:
Drawings by Frank Abshier.

From Mrs. Clyde (Wilma) McCreight:
Silver-toned metal ribbon barbed wire section, c. 1880s. Barbed wire, invented in 1874, led to the end of the open range.

From James E. Fregia:
Hunting horn made out of cow horn, c. 1928 or earlier. The horn was used to call dogs while working cattle in the woods.

From the Abshier Family Collection:
Leather chaps, c. 1945; used by Benjamin Abshier, Jr.
Running iron and case, c. 1969; owned and used by James Frank Abshier to brand livestock.
Leather belt made by Bettie Key, c. 1965; used by James Frank Abshier.

From the Samuel Max Smith Collection:
Child's saddle, c. 1903-1919. The saddle, donated by Mrs. Jessie Wood, belonged to her brother Samuel Max Smith (1911-1919). The saddle was possibly purchased in Cleveland.

From the Leila Boyt Jeffrey Archives:
Photographs of ranchers, rodeo cowboys, and cattle.

From Jean Houston Daniel:
Governor Price Daniel's show saddle.
Saddle blanket presented to G. T. J. Hardeman by General Sam Houston.

From Catherine J. Merchant and Maxine Merchant:
Set of spurs, c. 1920; belonged to William W. Merchant.
Branding iron with "J4" brand, used by the Jackson and Merchant families.

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