Oil, Taxes, and Cats: A History of the Devitt Family and the Mallet Ranch
David J. Murrah
Oil, Taxes, and Cats: A History of the Devitt Family and the Mallet Ranch
David J. Murrah
Many of the great Texas ranches established during the cattle boom of the 1880s became immediate business successes, but as time passed, many of them failed.
Oil, Taxes, and Cats
is the story of one of the survivors and of the family that kept it alive. David Mantz DeVitt, a young New York newspaperman, came to Texas in 1880 and became co-owner of the Mallet Ranch in 1895. Although he lacked practical experience in the livestock business, DeVitt managed to parlay his small investment into a 100,000-acre cattle operation that continues to operate today. DeVitts two sons were killed in separate accidents, and when he died in 1934, his daughters Christine (age forty-nine) and Helen (age thirty-four) inherited controlling interest in the ranch along with Florence, DeVitts sixty-seven- year-old widow. The women found themselves thrust into the middle of a mans world during the worst of the Great Depression. Set on assuming her fathers active interest in the ranch, Christine DeVitt struggled to achieve and maintain controlling management, throwing the Mallet partners into a costly and protracted receivership battle. Despite her stubbornness and eccentricity, she ultimately gained the respect she sought, not only preserving the ranch but also gaining great fortune for the partnership. The story of the ranch is a powerful saga of legal battles, oil leases, range disputes, and generous philanthropy that endures to this day.
This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in approx 4 weeks
Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.
Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.