James M. Daugherty (1850-1942) attended McKenzie College near Clarksville from 1861-1864. He joined the Confederate Sates of America Army at the age of fourteen as an express rider delivering dispatches for General Samuel Cooper’s brigade. Following the Civil War, Daugherty relocated to San Antonio to work as cowboy for cattle-raiser James Adams. In 1866, Adams allowed Daugherty to drive 500 head of cattle to a new market opening in Missouri. The drive, which came at the beginning of the long-drive open-cattle business, started in Denton, Texas. The drive resulted in the loss of 150 cattle and nearly took Daugherty’s life, but was considered to be a success.
From 1867 to 1873, Daugherty led a series of cattle drives into Indian Territory on behalf of the government in order to provide the Indians with fresh meat. In 1872, Daugherty acquired a ranch near Trinidad, Colorado, and then later started another ranch in Stonewall County, Texas, on the South Fork of the Brazos River, establishing his home in Abilene while continuing in the cattle business.
In 1875, Daugherty married Sara Elizabeth (Bettie) Middleton, the daughter of a pioneer cattleman, with whom he had five children. He was active in local civic affairs in Abilene for several years before moving to an area of El Paso County that would later become Culberson County. Here, he started the Figure 2 Ranch, the Black Mountain Cattle Company, and the community of Daugherty. He organized Culberson County, served as an early county commissioner, organized two local banks and joined the newly formed Cattle Raisers Association of Texas (now the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association). He was also a charter member of the Trail Drivers Association.
Source:
Blank, Deborah. “Daugherty, James Monroe.” Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed July 7, 2010.
The James Monroe Daugherty Papers, 1863-1905,1933, pertain to the business affairs of James Daugherty, including contracts with Indian Agencies, Daugherty’s bankruptcy (1879), production and marketing aspects of his cattle enterprises in and around Abilene and Van Horn, and mining ventures in Mexico and other investment interests. Materials include correspondence, contracts, deeds of cattle sales, tally, account and memorandum books, photographs, and financial records.
This collection is open for research use.
James Monroe Daugherty Papers, 1863-1905,1933, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
This collection was processed by W. H. Richer, December 1966. Subsequent revisions were made by Lynn Bell, May 1985.