Swenson Ranches

Multiple sources credit Svante Magnus Swenson as being the first Swedish immigrant to come to Texas. He was born February 24, 1816 in Sweden to Sven Israelsson Swenson and Margareta Andesrsdotter Swenson, both of whom lived their whole lives in Sweden. He left his family and his home in Sweden when he was about twenty years old and came to America. S. M. briefly lived in New York before he relocated to the South. After he worked in New York as a railroad bookkeeper for a while, S. M. traveled to Galveston from New York in 1838. According to a biography of Swenson written by A. Anderson, the ship he traveled in experienced a shipwreck as it arrived in Texas, though the details are unknown. Swenson survived the ordeal and operated a mercantile business for a few years. It appears that for some time, he remained in the coastal area working for his own account before later joining in a partnership with a Dr. Long from Fort Bend County.

Swenson was married twice. His first wife was Mrs. Jeannette Long, the widow of his former partner Dr. Long. She and Dr. Long had no children of their own. Jeannette died of unknown causes soon after their marriage. Jeanette’s date of death and burial place are currently unknown. She and Dr. Long had owned a plantation in the Fort Bend area, which S. M. inherited upon her death.

The capital of the Republic had been moved from the Houston area to Austin in the late 1830s, so to enhance his business prospects, Swenson relocated to that area and lived around Travis and Williamson counties for a number of years. He began to acquire real estate there. He also added to his holdings formerly unclaimed land in West Texas. At that time, much of that area was still largely unsettled by Anglos and subject to raids from the native tribes. Swenson was an acquaintance of Sam Houston and they had some common political sentiments. As the Civil War began to loom, Swenson, who would be described as a unionist and one who opposed Texas’ succession from the Union, found his views unpopular. He left the Austin area with like minded friends and resided in Mexico until the war was over. During this time, he was fortunate to be able to sell his property in the Austin area.

Around 1851, he had married Susan McRady, a cousin of his first wife Jeanette. S. M. and Susan had four children who lived to be adults: Eric, Albin, Margareta and Mary Eleanor and another daughter named Ebba who died as an infant.

S. A. is also noted for encouraging others to emigrate to America and helped to establish what is referred to as the Swedish Pipeline. Several family members followed him to Texas. The first was an uncle named Svante Palm who arrived in 1844. Over the years, S. M. returned to Sweden to encourage others to move to Texas. His sister Anna joined him in 1847 and twenty-five more family members came in 1848. Swenson continued to encourage Swedish people to come to Texas. A family story is that he would sometimes pay their fare from Sweden to Texas and let them work off the cost over time. He continued his efforts to promote Texas to Swedish people for many years.

It is believed that S. A. managed his holdings in Texas along with his sons, but did not reside in Texas for very long, or perhaps not at all, after the Civil War. For a while, he apparently lived in Louisiana before returning once more to New York. Swenson expanded his banking interests and formed S. M. Swenson and Sons. His West Texas ranch holdings, generally around the Stamford area, were developed by Eric and Albin, his sons. The development began around 1880 after the Indian Wars had largely subsided and they established three ranches which became known as the Throckmorton Ranch, the Flat Top Ranch and Ericsdahl. One name that they apparently did business under was SMS Ranches. Other names included Swenson Brothers Cattle Company and the Swenson Land and Cattle Company.

Their main brand, an M between two backwards S letters, all capitals, was one of the earliest brands registered in the state. “Texas Cattle Brands” by Gus L. Ford notes that it was registered in the spring of 1882 by Swenson Brothers in Jones, Haskell, Stonewall, Thorckmorton and Shackelford counties. The family continued to add to its initial holdings with acquisitions in Jones, Haskell, Cottle, King, Motley and Dickens counties and for a number of years were in the chain of ownership of the Espuela, or Spur, Ranch. Around 1900, some of their holdings were donated to railroad companies to allow them to extend service to areas near their ranches. At their peak, the holdings of the Swenson family are believed to have amounted to well over 500,000 acres.

The families grew and many members became involved in the ranching operations. S. M. had resided in New York for many years and died in Manhattan on June 13, 1896. He was 80 years old. He was survived by sons Eric and Albin and daughter Mary Eleanor. The daughter named Margareta had predeceased him in 1879. His wife Susan McRady Swenson survived him until she died in 1906.

Eric Pierson Swenson and Sven Albin Swenson continued to manage the affairs of the ranch. Although Albin lived for many years in New York, he remained actively involved in the cattle operation. He served as vice president of the Swenson Land and Cattle Company while Eric served as president. The father, Svante Magnus Swenson had formed a private banking company which eventually became National City Bank of New York. Both brothers were actively involved in the management of the bank. In addition to their cattle and banking operations, sulfur had been found on some property they owned in Freeport which they developed into what was called the largest sulfur mining operations in the world.

Albin died at the age of 67 on November 16, 1927. He was survived by his widow and one son. Eric was considered a founder of the town of Stamford, Texas in 1900. Like his brother, he lived for many years in New York but was actively involved in the Texas operations of the ranches and sulfur mining operation and served as chairman of the board of the banking corporation. Eric died at the age of 90 on August 14, 1945. Eric was survived by two sons and sister Eleanor who passed in 1958. Their father Svante, brothers Eric and Albin, their sister Mary Eleanor, their mother Susan and over a dozen other relatives are all buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

The ranches are believed to have remained in the hands of the family for many years until around 1978 when they appear to have been divided up by four family groups. Since that time, some of the properties have been sold to third parties.

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