{{Short description|American rancher and oilman (1870–1938)}} {{Infobox person | name = Robert Lee Slaughter | birth_date = August 15, 1870 | birth_place = Palo Pinto County, Texas, US | death_date = September 29, 1938 | death_place = Dallas, Texas | resting_place = East Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas, US | occupation = Rancher, oilman | spouse = Florence Harris | children = Robert Slaughter, Jr. | parents = C.C. Slaughter<br/>Cynthia Ann Jowell | relatives = George Webb Slaughter <small>(paternal grandfather)</small><br/>William B. Slaughter <small>(paternal uncle)</small><br/>Ira P. DeLoache <small>(brother-in-law)</small> }} '''Robert Lee Slaughter''' (August 15, 1870 – September 29, 1938) was an American rancher and oilman. He was the owner of ranches in Texas and Sonora, Mexico.

==Early life== Robert Lee Slaughter was born on August 15, 1870, in Palo Pinto County, Texas.<ref name="wealthylubbock">{{cite news|title=Wealthy Lubbock Cattleman Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/45493392/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=Abilene Reporter-News | location=Abilene, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |page=21 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref><ref name=handbookbio>{{cite web|last1=Anderson|first1=H. Allen|title=SLAUGHTER, ROBERT LEE|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsl15|website=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name="widelyknownoil">{{cite news|title=Widely-Known Oil and Cattleman Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/22767324/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=The Corpus Christi Caller-Times | location=Corpus Christi, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |page=1 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> His father, C.C. Slaughter, was a large rancher.<ref name="widelyknownoil"/><ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas">{{cite news|title=R. L. Slaughter Dies At Dallas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/13613864/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=Lubbock Morning Avalanche | location=Lubbock, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |pages=10;15 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> His paternal grandfather, George Webb Slaughter, was a Baptist minister from Mississippi.

Slaughter grew up in Dallas, Texas,<ref name="wealthylubbock"/> where he was educated at an academy run by G. W. Grove in Dallas, Texas.<ref name=handbookbio/>

==Career== Slaughter became the manager of the Long S Ranch, a 1,000,000-acre ranch in Dawson County, Texas, owned by his father, in 1888.<ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas"/><ref name="wealthystockman">{{cite news|title=Wealthy Stockman of Lubbock Dies: Rancher Headed Million-Acre Property |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/68647896/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=El Paso Herald-Post | location=El Paso, Texas |date=September 30, 1938 |page=7 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> By 1909, Slaughter joined the Soash Development Company, a real estate development company run by William P. Soash.<ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas"/> He helped develop the new town of Soash, Texas.<ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas"/> From 1915 to 1919, he managed the Lazy S Ranch in Hockley County, Texas, whose headquarters were located in Sundown, Texas.<ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas"/>

Slaughter acquired a ranch near Moctezuma in Sonora, Mexico with his brother-in-law, George T. Veal.<ref name=handbookbio/> The ranch was heavily damaged by Yaquis, a Native American tribe, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920.<ref name=handbookbio/> They also acquired a ranch near El Paso, Texas.<ref name=handbookbio/>

Slaughter co-founded the Lone Star Land Company with William P. Soash, his brother Dick Slaughter and his sister Minnie Slaughter Veal in 1924.<ref name=handbookbio/> They founded the towns of Sundown and Vealmoor.<ref name=handbookbio/> They also sold portions of land from their Long S Ranch and Lazy S Ranch for real estate development.<ref name=handbookbio/>

By 1937, oil was discovered and drilled by Texaco on the Lazy S Ranch.<ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas"/> By the time of his death, Slaughter was the "owner of extensive oil property".<ref name="widelyknownoil"/><ref name="succumbs">{{cite news|title=Well-Known Lubbock Cattleman Succumbs at Dallas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/13696996/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=The Kerrville Times | location=Kerrville, Texas |date=October 6, 1938 |page=3 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 31, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

==Personal life== Slaughter married Florence Harris in 1893.<ref name=handbookbio/> They had a son, Robert Slaughter Jr.<ref name=handbookbio/> They resided in Midland, Texas, until 1921, when they moved to Lubbock, Texas.<ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas"/><ref name="wealthystockman"/>

Slaughter enjoyed driving cars fast on his ranches.<ref name=handbookbio/>

==Death and legacy== Slaughter became ill in 1937.<ref name="rlslaughterdiesatdallas"/><ref name="slaughterfuneralservices">{{cite news|title=Slaughter Funeral Services To Be Held in Dallas Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/6284621/?terms=%22Robert%2BLee%2BSlaughter%22 |newspaper=Lubbock Morning Avalanche | location=Lubbock, Texas |date=October 1, 1938 |pages=5 |via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref> He received medical treatment in New York City, before returning to a hospital in Dallas.<ref name="slaughterfuneralservices"/> He died on September 29, 1938, in Dallas, Texas.<ref name="wealthylubbock"/><ref name="widelyknownoil"/> His funeral was held in Dallas on October 1, 1938.<ref name="slaughterfuneralservices"/> He was buried at the East Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas.<ref name=handbookbio/>

Slaughter's son inherited his ranches, and died in 1969.<ref name=handbookbio/>

His papers are held in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University.<ref name=texasarchivaltech>{{cite web|title=R. L. Slaughter: An Inventory of His Papers, 1921-1960 and undated, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ttusw/00076/tsw-00076.html|website=Texas Archival Resources Online|access-date=December 30, 2015}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Find a Grave|63303233}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, Robert Lee}} Category:1870 births Category:1938 deaths Category:People from Palo Pinto County, Texas Category:People from Midland, Texas Category:People from Lubbock, Texas Category:People from Sonora Category:Ranchers from Texas Category:American businesspeople in the oil industry