Thomas B. Saunders Family

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Now settle in, because this one's a family story; and in Texas, when a family story involves cattle, it tends to run about as far as the eye can see. Thomas Bailey Saunders was born in North Carolina in 1816, and somewhere along the way Texas got hold of him.

He migrated here in 1850 and started a cattle ranch near Gonzales. After the Civil War, he was pushing cattle drives all the way to New Orleans and Kansas before eventually settling in Bexar County. Twelve children.

Twelve. And at least two of them caught the cattle fever just as bad as their father. William David Harris Saunders, born in 1845, was supplying beef for Confederate forces during the Civil War: a young man with a serious job.

After the war, William became a successful merchant and rancher down in Goliad. Then there's George Washington Saunders, born in 1854, who became a noted trail driver of the 1870s. George later opened a livestock commission in San Antonio.

That's two generations deep, and we're just gettin' started. William's son, Thomas B. Saunders the Second, born in 1872, owned a livestock firm in Houston, then moved to Fort Worth, and in 1902 became the very first cattle dealer on the Fort Worth Stockyards.

First one. You walk through those stockyards today, you're walkin' through ground he broke. And he didn't stop there; Thomas the Second was a pioneer in transporting cattle by truck, which at the time was about as forward-thinkin' as it gets.

His son, Thomas B. Saunders the Third, born in 1906, ran extensive ranching operations throughout the Southwest. And when the 1930s depression came along and squeezed the cattle world like a dry summer, he started a cattle clearinghouse for traders, order buyers, and commission companies: a man buildin' something useful right in the teeth of hard times.

From 1850 on, the Saunders family has been woven into the Texas cattle industry like a good rope; generation after generation, from the drives of the old trails to the stockyards to the open range of the Southwest. Some families leave a mark. This one left a whole brand.

What the marker says

A native of North Carolina, Thomas Bailey Saunders (1816-1902) migrated to Texas in 1850 and started a cattle ranch near Gonzales. After the Civil War he completed cattle drives to markets in New Orleans and Kansas before settling in Bexar County. Two of Saunders' twelve children were also involved in the cattle industry. William David Harris Saunders (1845-1922) helped supply beef for Confederate forces during the Civil War and later became a successful Goliad merchant and rancher. Another son, George Washington Saunders (1854-1933), became a noted trail driver of the 1870s. He later opened a livestock commission in San Antonio. Thomas B. Saunders, II (1872-1929), the son of William, owned a livestock firm in Houston. He later moved here and in 1902 became the first cattle dealer on the Fort Worth Stockyards. He was a pioneer in the transporting of cattle by truck. His son Thomas B. Saunders, III (1906-1974), was involved in extensive ranching operations throughout the Southwest. During the 1930s economic depression, he started a cattle clearinghouse for traders, order buyers, and commission companies. Since the 1850s, Saunders family members have been actively involved in the Texas cattle industry.