A Guide to the Rector (Magaret) Papers, 1881-2002

Biographical Note

Margaret Rector was born in Haskell in West Texas and moved to Austin, Texas during the Great Depression. She worked for the State of Texas for thirty-five years. Rector was the daughter of photographer Ray Rector (1884-1933) and sister of Tommie Rector. After beginning a photography business in Stamford, Texas, in 1903, Ray Rector became known as the “Cowboy Photographer,” photographing everyday ranch-life scenes. His idea for a cowboy reunion, to perpetuate the memory of the West and bring together old-time ranchers and cowhands for a few days of fellowship and reminiscence, resulted in the first Texas Cowboy Reunion, held in Stamford in 1930.

Margaret Rector bought 15 acres in western Travis County as an investment in 1973. In the 1990s, she conflicted with federal and state agencies over ownership of private property and the effects of the Endangers Species Act. In 1990, the golden-cheeked warbler, a local bird, was listed as an endangered species. By 1994, her property's assessed value had dropped 97 percent due to development issues on land now identified as endangered species' habitat. She sold her land in 1997.

Handbook of Texas Online “Rector, Ray,” http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/RR/fre38.html (accessed on October 15, 2010).

Seasholes, Brian. 2007. Bad for species, bad for people what's wrong with the Endangered Species Act and how to fix it. NCPA policy report, no. 303. Dallas: National Center for Policy Analysis. http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st303?pg=3 (accessed on October 15, 2010).

Scope and Contents

The Margaret Rector Papers, 1881-2002, include correspondence, legal documents, articles, newsletters, and newspaper clippings relating to her conflict with the Endangered Species Act and federal and local regulatory agencies in the 1990s over private property she owned in Travis County. This collection also includes Willis Faulk’s 1881 indictment with Billy the Kid as witness, and a 1912 letter from R.E. Lee, grandson of Robert E. Lee, to Ray Rector. The collection is arranged in six series, including correpondence; general notes; legal work; meetings, events, and organizations; printed material; and Ray Rector items.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Margaret Rector Papers, 1881-2002, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Processing Information

Revisions were made by Evan Usler, October 2010.

Detailed Description of the Papers