John Scharbauer

John Scharbauer (1852-1941) was an American rancher. Born in New York, he moved to Texas in 1880 and became a large rancher in the Southwest. By the time of his death, his business empire included "operations in banking, corporate investments, oil lands, real estate and ranches which sprawled across four Texas counties and into New Mexico."[1]

John Scharbauer
BornDecember 28, 1852
Albany County, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 20, 1941
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeGreenwood Memorial Park, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
OccupationRancher
Spouse(s)Kate Tompkins
RelativesClarence Scharbauer (nephew)
Clarence Scharbauer, Jr. (great-nephew)

Early life

John Scharbauer was born on December 28, 1852, in Albany County, New York.[2] His father was an immigrant from Germany.[2]

Scharbauer moved to Texas in 1880,[2] at the age of twenty-eight, with US$2,000.[1][3] He first worked as a restaurant dishwasher in Eastland, Texas to "get acquainted" with the local residents.[1][4] Scharbauer had stopped at Eastland because that was the last stop on the railroad.[4]

Career

Scharbauer purchased 450 sheep with his US$2,000 and raised them near Sweetwater, Texas.[1][2][4] By 1882, he moved to Abilene, Texas, where he worked with another investor.[2] However, two years later, in 1884, his business partner bailed out and Scharbauer moved his sheep to Mitchell County, Texas.[2] In 1885, he purchased the Mallet Cattle Company with David M. DeVitt and registered the brand in Hockley County, Texas; it later became known as the Mallet Ranch.[5][6]

Meanwhile, in 1887, Scharbauer purchased a ranch near Midland, Texas, in present-day Stanton, Texas.[7] Within a year, by 1888, he was able to ship between 48,000 and 49,000 sheep to the markets in Chicago.[1][3] Two years later, in 1890, he was the first rancher to raise Hereford cattle in West Texas.[1] The first cattle came from Illinois.[1] He also raised Texas Longhorn, which were driven to Amarillo, Texas and subsequently shipped to Montana and Wyoming.[3] By 1892-1893, due to the winding down of open range,[3] Scharbauer sold his sheep and refocused his investments on cattle.[2] Over the years, his cattle won many blue ribbon competitions.[1] Eventually, Scharbauer founded the Scharbauer Cattle Company, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.[1] Scharbauer also conducted business out of Midland, Texas and Hobbs, New Mexico.[3][4] By 1939, Scharbauer had reinvested in sheep, and he owned 10,000 sheep and 15,000 cattle.[3]

Scharbauer co-founded a precursor to the First National Bank of Midland, Texas with the Connelle brothers in 1890.[1][3][4] He served on its Board of Directors during the Great Depression, when he borrowed US$100,000 from a bank in Fort Worth to save the Midland bank.[1][4]

By the time of his death, his business empire included "operations in banking, corporate investments, oil lands, real estate and ranches which sprawled across four Texas counties and into New Mexico,"[1] namely Martin County, Midland County, Gaines County and Andrews County,[3][4] as well as Lea County, New Mexico.[8]

Personal life

Scharbauer married Kate Tompkins. They resided in Fort Worth, Texas.[1] They had a daughter, Eusebia, who married William C. Stonestreet.[1] Scharbauer was widowed in 1935.[1]

Death and legacy

Scharbauer died of a heart attack on October 20, 1941 in Fort Worth, Texas.[1][4] He was eighty-nine years old.[1] He was buried at the Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.

Scharbauer's ranch in Lea County, New Mexico was purchased by rancher Millard Eidson in 1942.[8] The sale was arranged prior to Scharbauer's death.[8] Meanwhile, his nephew, Clarence Scharbauer, who served as the vice president of the Scharbauer Cattle Company during his lifetime, succeeded him as president.[8]

References
  1. "John Scharbauer, Texas Cattle Baron, Dies in Fort Worth. Came To Texas From New York And Washed Dishes In Eastland Restaurant". Corsicana Daily Sun. Corsicana, Texas. October 21, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved January 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Murrah, David J. (2001). Oil, Taxes, and Cats: A History of the Devitt Family and the Mallet Ranch. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press. p. 7. ISBN 9780896723320. OCLC 29360732. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  3. Sloan, L. C. (May 14, 1939). "Yes, He's 87, But--John Scharbauer Holds Helm of Ranching Empire". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, Texas. p. 6. Retrieved January 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Early Ranch Baron Dead". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, Texas. October 21, 1941. p. 13. Retrieved January 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Anderson, H. Allen (June 15, 2010). "Mallet Ranch". Handbook of Texas (online ed.). Texas State Historical Association.
  6. "Mallet Ranch: An Inventory of Its Records, 1865-1992 and undated, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library". Texas Archival Resources Online. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  7. Collett, James (2010). Midland. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 9780738578965. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  8. "Loving Man Buys Ranch Holdings". El Paso Herald-Post. El Paso, Texas. January 2, 1942. p. 14. Retrieved January 2, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
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