Captain Gully Cowsert

Duane's take

The official marker's the word on this one, and I'm just Duane, here to pass it along. Now, some names just sound like they belong to a story. Gully Cowsert is one of those names.

Captain Gully Cowsert. He came into this world on June 12, 1896, and he left it just one day shy of his sixty-second birthday. June 11, 1958.

In between those two dates, he packed in enough to fill a shelf of books. It started with the Corps. The United States Marine Corps.

Gully Cowsert served as a Corporal in World War I, which tells you something right there about the kind of man he was. You don't walk out of the Marine Corps a soft fellow. But here's where the story takes its real turn.

In 1942, Gully Cowsert became a Texas Ranger. And once he put on that badge, he didn't set it down lightly; he served in that rank for fourteen years. Fourteen years.

He commanded Company E and the West Texas District, and he did that for the same fourteen years. That's not a posting, friend. That's a calling.

Now, West Texas has always had its share of trouble, and a particular kind of trouble that strikes right at a rancher's livelihood: cattle and sheep going missing in ways they weren't supposed to. Gully Cowsert gained his fame solving cattle and sheep theft cases. Out there in that wide, hard country where the evidence could be dust and boot prints, he had a reputation for finding what others couldn't.

Along the way, he made a life beyond the badge. His first wife was Mamie Keesee, and together they had two sons (K. and Gully, Jr.) and a daughter, Mary Katherine. His second wife was Dana Van der Smissen.

A Corporal in the Marines. A Texas Ranger for fourteen years. Commander of Company E and the West Texas District.

A man who made cattle thieves nervous and made the ranchers of West Texas sleep a little sounder. One day short of sixty-two years on this earth, and Gully Cowsert used every last one of them.

What the marker says

(June 12,1896 - June 11,1958) Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, World War I. Became Texas Ranger in 1942. He served in that rank for 14 years. Commanded Company E and West Texas District 14 years. Gained fame solving cattle and sheep theft cases. First wife was Mamie Keesee; had two sons, K. and Gully, Jr. and daughter, Mary Katherine. Second wife was Dana Van der Smissen.