ranches, ranch families – Page 4 – Texas History Notebook

Two Texas Horses – Traveler and Dash for Cash

Traveler was a former railroad work horse that rose to fame for a short time as a race horse in a career that ended about 120 years ago. He is better known for his offspring. His actual ancestry is unknown, but he was believed to have been born in New York state around 1880 to and was transported to Texas around 1890 as a work horse for a railroad contractor. He had no name at that time and was a utility animal, used to pull an implement called a dirt scraper. At one point, the railroad contractor decided that a mule would be better and traded with an East Texas man named Self. Self determined that the horse had a talent for racing and began match racing him with other horses. The horse was then traded to an owner by the name of Seay who also raced him. How and when he was given the name of Traveler is also not precisely known. Finally the horse suffered a career ending injury and was sold possibly several more times until 1903, when he was acquired by owners Will and Dow Shely of Alfred, Texas. The Shely brothers used Traveler as one of the herd sires at their ranch.

Thomas Loyd Burnett

Thomas Loyd Burnett was the son of Samuel Burk Burnett (1849 – 1922) and Ruth Bottom Loyd (1853 – 1913), and was born to the couple on December 10, 1871 in Denton County, Texas. Burk and Ruth had both a son and a daughter after Tom was born, but neither child survived beyond one or two years of age. They were followed by another daughter, Anne Valliant Burnett (1876 -1914). Burk and Ruth divorced in 1892 and Burk subsequently married Mary Sue Couts (1857 – 1924). Their union produced a son, (half brother to Tom and Anne) Samuel Burk Burnett, Jr. (1895 – 1916). Burk, Jr. died of cancer when he was almost twenty-one years old after a short illness. Tom’s sister Anne had previously died in 1914.

The Shoe Bar Ranch (1880s – 1980s)

The Shoe Bar Ranch name is believed to date back to the late 1880s when Leigh R. Dyer settled in North Texas with a herd of cattle. Some accounts say that the Dyer connection to the brand included Leigh Dyer’s brother Walter Dyer and their well known sister Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight, wife of Charles Goodnight.

Anne W. Marion

Anne Burnett Windfohr Marion (1938 – 2020) was the last Burnett descendant to own the Four Sixes Ranch. Her mother was Anne Valiant Burnett Tandy. Her grandfather was Thomas Loyd Burnett, son of Samuel Burk Burnett and his first wife Ruth Bottom Loyd Burnett.

Burk Burnett’s Family

When people think of the 6666 Ranch, they typically think of Samuel Burk Burnett, his wives and children. However, Burk Burnett had a number of siblings, some of whom were associated with the ranch over the years while others were ranchers on their own.