Robert Lee Slaughter
{{Short description|American rancher and oilman (1870–1938)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Lee Slaughter
| birth_date = August 15, 1870
| birth_place = Palo Pinto County, Texas, US
| death_date = September 29, 1938
| death_place = Dallas, Texas
| resting_place = East Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas, US
| occupation = Rancher, oilman
| spouse = Florence Harris
| children = Robert Slaughter, Jr.
| parents = C.C. Slaughter
Cynthia Ann Jowell
| relatives = George Webb Slaughter (paternal grandfather)
William B. Slaughter (paternal uncle)
Ira P. DeLoache (brother-in-law)
}}
Robert Lee Slaughter (August 15, 1870 – September 29, 1938) was an American rancher and oilman. He was the owner of ranches in Texas and Sonora, Mexico.
Early life
Robert Lee Slaughter was born on August 15, 1870, in Palo Pinto County, Texas.{{cite news|title=Wealthy Lubbock Cattleman Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/45493392/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=Abilene Reporter-News | location=Abilene, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |page=21 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}}{{cite web|last1=Anderson|first1=H. Allen|title=SLAUGHTER, ROBERT LEE|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsl15|website=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 30, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Widely-Known Oil and Cattleman Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/22767324/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=The Corpus Christi Caller-Times | location=Corpus Christi, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |page=1 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}} His father, C.C. Slaughter, was a large rancher.{{cite news|title=R. L. Slaughter Dies At Dallas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/13613864/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=Lubbock Morning Avalanche | location=Lubbock, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |pages=10;15 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}} His paternal grandfather, George Webb Slaughter, was a Baptist minister from Mississippi.
Slaughter grew up in Dallas, Texas, where he was educated at an academy run by G. W. Grove in Dallas, Texas.
Career
Slaughter became the manager of the Long S Ranch, a 1,000,000-acre ranch in Dawson County, Texas, owned by his father, in 1888.{{cite news|title=Wealthy Stockman of Lubbock Dies: Rancher Headed Million-Acre Property |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/68647896/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=El Paso Herald-Post | location=El Paso, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |page=7 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}} By 1909, Slaughter joined the Soash Development Company, a real estate development company run by William P. Soash. He helped develop the new town of Soash, Texas. From 1915 to 1919, he managed the Lazy S Ranch in Hockley County, Texas, whose headquarters were located in Sundown, Texas.
Slaughter acquired a ranch near Moctezuma in Sonora, Mexico with his brother-in-law, George T. Veal. The ranch was heavily damaged by Yaquis, a Native American tribe, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920. They also acquired a ranch near El Paso, Texas.
Slaughter co-founded the Lone Star Land Company with William P. Soash, his brother Dick Slaughter and his sister Minnie Slaughter Veal in 1924. They founded the towns of Sundown and Vealmoor. They also sold portions of land from their Long S Ranch and Lazy S Ranch for real estate development.
By 1937, oil was discovered and drilled by Texaco on the Lazy S Ranch. By the time of his death, Slaughter was the "owner of extensive oil property".{{cite news|title=Well-Known Lubbock Cattleman Succumbs at Dallas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/13696996/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=The Kerrville Times | location=Kerrville, Texas |date=October 6, 1938 |page=3 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 31, 2015 }} {{Open access}}
Personal life
Death and legacy
Slaughter became ill in 1937.{{cite news|title=Slaughter Funeral Services To Be Held in Dallas Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/6284621/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=Lubbock Morning Avalanche | location=Lubbock, Texas |date=October 1, 1938 |pages=5 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}} He received medical treatment in New York City, before returning to a hospital in Dallas. He died on September 29, 1938, in Dallas, Texas. His funeral was held in Dallas on October 1, 1938. He was buried at the East Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas.
Slaughter's son inherited his ranches, and died in 1969.
His papers are held in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University.{{cite web|title=R. L. Slaughter: An Inventory of His Papers, 1921-1960 and undated, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00076/tsw-00076.html|website=Texas Archival Resources Online|access-date=December 30, 2015}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|63303233}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, Robert Lee}}
Category:People from Palo Pinto County, Texas
Category:People from Midland, Texas