George Webb Slaughter (1811–1895) was an American Baptist minister, cattle breeder and drover, and rancher in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Born in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, he drove cattle to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, from his ranch near

Palo Pinto, Texas Palo Pinto is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community and county seat in Palo Pinto County, Texas, United States. This was a new CDP for the 2010 census with a population of 333. Geography Palo Pinto is located at (32.76914 ...

. According to historian J. Marvin Hunter, "he baptized over 3,000 persons and ordained more preachers and organized more churches than any other person in the state of Texas."

Early life

George Webb Slaughter was born on May 10, 1811, in Lawrence County, Mississippi.Claudia Hazlewood, "SLAUGHTER, GEORGE WEBB," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsl02), accessed August 05, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the

Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of ...

.J. Marvin Hunter (ed.), ''The Trail Drivers of Texas'', Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1985, pp. 749-75
GEORGE WEBB SLAUGHTER, Page #0749
/ref>
USGenWeb Project His father, William Slaughter (1781-1851), was a farmer who had served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

; and his mother was Nancy Moore. With his parents, he moved

Copiah County, Mississippi Copiah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,368. The county seat is Hazlehurst. With an eastern border formed by the Pearl River, Copiah County is part of the Jackson, MS Me ...

, in 1821, to

in 1825, and to

Sabine County, Texas Sabine County is a county located on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,894. The county was organized on December 14, 1837, and named for the Sabine River, which forms its east ...

, five years later, in 1830.

Career

Slaughter was a courier to Sam Houston. In this capacity, he delivered a message from Houston to William B. Travis at the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

in 1836. Slaughter joined the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

in 1831. However, ten years later, he joined the Baptist Church, becoming an ordained Baptist minister in 1844. He served as a Baptist minister in Sabine County and other parts of

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region cons ...

until 1851. He then moved with his family and cattle to Freestone County, Texas. Six years later, in 1857, he established a ranch near

. There, he also served as a Baptist minister and practised medicine. According to historian J. Marvin Hunter, "he baptized over 3,000 persons and ordained more preachers and organized more churches than any other person in the state of Texas." During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

of 1861-1865, Slaughter provided beef from his ranch to the

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

, a Native American tribe who were aligned with the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. After the war, Slaughter focused on cattle breeding and droving. With his son

C.C. Slaughter Christopher Columbus Slaughter (a.k.a. C.C. Slaughter or Lum Slaughter) (1837–1919) was an American rancher, cattle drover and breeder, banker and philanthropist in the Old West. After serving in the Confederate States Army during the American Ci ...

, he drove cattle from Palo Pinto, Texas to Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1867. The herd was meant for T. H. Johnson. He also sold cattle to James Loving (1836-1902) and Charles Rivers in 1867-1868. In 1870, he drove 3,000 heads of cattle on the Chisholm Trail all the way to

with his son. Living in Emporia, Kansas, from 1870 to 1876, he drove cattle every year. From 1876 to 1884, Slaughter returned to Texas, where he focused on ranching with another son, Peter Slaughter.

Personal life

Slaughter married Sarah Jane Mason on October 12, 1837. They were the first couple to get married in the Republic of Texas. They had eleven children.

Death

Slaughter died on March 19, 1895, in Palo Pinto, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, George Webb 1811 births 1895 deaths People from Lawrence County, Mississippi People from Palo Pinto County, Texas Ranchers from Texas American cattlemen Baptists from Texas Tonkawa history Baptists from Mississippi 19th-century Baptists