Samuel Burk Burnett

Samuel Burk Burnett (January 1, 1849 – June 27, 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