John Bunyan Slaughter

John Bunyan Slaughter (1848-1928) was an American rancher and banker. Born to a ranching family, Slaughter ranched in Texas and New Mexico before acquiring the U Lazy S Ranch in Garza County, Texas in 1901 and managing it for nearly three decades.

John Bunyan Slaughter
BornDecember 15, 1848
Sabine County, Texas, U.S.
DiedNovember 11, 1928(1928-11-11) (aged 79)
Resting placeEast Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
OccupationRancher, banker
Spouse(s)May Burris
Isabella Masten May
Children3, including John B. Slaughter, Jr.
Parent(s)George Webb Slaughter
Sarah Mason
RelativesChristopher Columbus Slaughter (brother)
William B. Slaughter (brother)

Early life

John Bunyan Slaughter was born on December 15, 1848 in Sabine County, Texas.[1][2] His father, George Webb Slaughter, was a Baptist minister from Mississippi who became a rancher in Texas.[3] He grew up in Palo Pinto County, Texas.[3]

Career
U Lazy S Carriage House, now at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas.

Slaughter became a cattle driver with his brother and his brother C.C., when the three men drove cattle on the Chisholm Trail all the way to Abilene, Kansas in 1866.[3] In the 1870s, Slaughter and his brother John claimed rangeland near McDonald Creek in Crosby County, Texas.[1] The two brothers raised cattle on their ranch and drove it to Kansas, where they sold it annually.[3] They sold it in 1883 and claimed rangeland in Socorro County, New Mexico.[4] However, a shootout occurred on October 30–31, 1884 between the Slaughters's cowboys and cowboys hired by Solomon Luna, another rancher.[4] When Luna sued the Slaughters, he won the lawsuit.[4] Meanwhile, Slaughter ranched near the Green River in Utah, followed by eastern New Mexico.[3]

Slaughter acquired a ranch in Glasscock County, Texas in 1890.[3] He managed it until 1898, when he sold it.[3] Meanwhile, he served as the vice president of the People's National Bank of Colorado City, Texas.[3]

Slaughter acquired the 99,188-acre U Lazy S Ranch in Garza County, Texas, in 1901.[2][5] He was its manager for twenty-seven years.[2] In 1902, he built a ranchhouse, which was subsequently listed as a Texas landmark.[1] In 1906, he sold 50,000 acres to C. W. Post, who founded the new town of Post, Texas.[6]

Personal life

Slaughter married May Burris in 1877.[3] She died in 1879.[3] He married Isabella Masten May, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,[7] in 1880.[3] They had three children.[3] They first lived on a homestead in Crosby County until they moved into a mansion in Fort Worth, Texas, followed by a mansion on their ranch in Garza County.[3]

Death and legacy

Slaughter died on November 11, 1928.[3] He was buried at the East Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas.[1] His widow died in 1947.[7][8] Meanwhile, his son John B. Slaughter, Jr. inherited the U Lazy S Ranch.[5]

References
  1. Laine, Tanner (June 15, 2000). "U Lazy S Ranch left indelible mark on history of South Plains tackles massive chore". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  2. "John B. Slaughter Dies At Home Near Post". The Vernon Daily Record. Vernon, Texas. November 12, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved December 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Anderson, H. Allen (June 15, 2010). "Slaughter, John Bunyan". Handbook of Texas (online ed.). Texas State Historical Association.
  4. Sánchez, Joseph P.; Spude, Robert L.; Gómez, Art (2013). New Mexico: A History. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 159–160. ISBN 978-0-8061-5113-7.
  5. Holden, William Curry (June 15, 2010). "U Lazy S Ranch". Handbook of Texas (online ed.). Texas State Historical Association.
  6. "Texas Ranch Museum Gains Another Structure". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, Texas. November 9, 1969. p. 50. Retrieved December 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Slaughter Rites Scheduled Today". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. Lubbock, Texas. June 26, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "West Texas Pioneer Dies". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, Texas. June 25, 1947. p. 2. Retrieved December 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
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