Oliver Loving
| Oliver Loving | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 4, 1812 Hopkins County, Kentucky, US |
| Died | September 25, 1867 (aged 54) Fort Sumner, New Mexico |
| Resting place | Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford, Texas |
| Residence | Weatherford, Texas |
| Occupation | Rancher, cattle drover |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Doggett Morgan Loving (married 1833-1867, his death) |
| Children | Seven children: Sarah Loving, James C. Loving, William Loving, Sue Loving, Joseph Loving, Annie Loving, Margaret Loving |
Oliver Loving (December 4, 1812 – September 25, 1867) was a rancher and cattle driver. Together with Charles Goodnight, he developed the Goodnight-Loving Trail. He was mortally wounded by Native Americans while on a cattle drive.
Loving County, Texas, the smallest county in the United States in population, is named in his honor.
Oliver Loving was born on December 4, 1812 in Hopkins County, Kentucky. His father was Joseph Loving and his mother, Susannah Mary Bourland.
In 1833, he became a farmer in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Ten years later, with his brother and his brother-in-law, he moved to the Republic of Texas with their families. In Texas, Loving received 640 acres (2.6 km²) of land in three patents spread through three counties Collin, Dallas, and Parker. He farmed and, to feed his growing family, hauled freight in his early years as a Texan.
By 1855, he moved with his family to the future Palo Pinto County, Texas, where he ran a country store and ranched on Keechi Creek. By 1857, he owned a thousand acres (4 km²) of land. To market his large herd, he drove them out of Texas and in that same year he entrusted his nineteen-year-old son, Joseph, to drive his and his neighbors' cattle to Illinois up the Shawnee Trail. The drive made a profit of $36 head and encouraged Loving to repeat the trek successfully the next year with John Durkee.
On August 29, 1860, together with John Dawson, he started a herd of 1,500 toward Denver, Colorado to feed miners in the area. They crossed the Red River, traveled to the Arkansas River, and followed it to Pueblo, Colorado, where the cattle wintered. In the spring, Loving sold his cattle for gold and tried to leave for Texas. However, the American Civil War had broken out and the Union authorities prevented him from returning to the South until Kit Carson and others interceded for him. During the war, he was commissioned to provide beef to the Confederate States Army and drive cattle along the Mississippi River. When the war ended, the Confederate government reportedly owed him between $100,000 and $250,000. To make matters worse, the usual cattle markets were inadequate for the available supply.
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