Background
Daniel Waggoner was born on July 7, 1828 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. His father, Solomon Waggoner, was a farmer, cattleman and horse and slave trader. His mother was Elizabeth (McGaugh) Waggoner.
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Daniel Waggoner
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Career
He also owned five banks, three cottonseed oil mills, and a coal company. He established the Waggoner Ranch, which spanned eight counties: Wise County, Clay County, Wichita County, Wilbarger County, Foard County, Baylor County, Archer County, and Knox County. They settled on Catlett Creek, near Decatur.
The land was "open range" when they first arrived.
In 1856, he purchased 320 acres of land near Cactus Hill, and moved his family there. He later purchased more land on Denton Creek, seven miles east of Decatur.
Each time, the whole family moved with him. Over the next three decades, he purchased more land in Wise County as well as Clay County, Wichita County, Wilbarger County, Foard County, Baylor County, Archer County, and Knox County.
Some of the land was acquired after he sent gunslinger Jimmie Roberts to intimidate small farmers into selling it to them.
However, many sold it willingly, as there was a drought at the time. Many of those small farmers moved to Lockett, Texas, where they enjoyed access to the Seymour Aquifer. He died of kidney disease on September 5, 1902 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
