George Glenn
Columbus, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
George Glenn George Glenn, son of Wash Glenn, was born into slavery in March 1850 and raised on the ranch of local cattleman Robert B. "Bob" Johnson. He was trained in ranching activities and as a trail cook. Following Emancipation, Glenn chose to stay on the Johnson Ranch as a cowhand. In the spring of 1870, Glenn accompanied Johnson on a cattle drive to Abilene, Texas. There, Johnson became ill and died. His body was placed in a metallic casket and temporarily buried in July 1870. Following the sale of the cattle, Glenn disinterred Johnson's body to drive it home in a wagon. Following the six-week trip, Johnson was re-interred next to his wife in the Columbus Cemetery. Glenn never made the trip to Abilene again. In 1872, he wed Lucy Conner. The couple established a homestead in Glidden and had at least one child. Glenn maintained a lifelong friendship with John Edward Folts, Texas Ranger, cattleman and nephew of Bob Johnson. Glenn was recognized for his bravery in traveling nearly 800 miles by wagon to bring his employer home. One of few African American members of the old trail drivers of Western America, Glenn was honored at the group's 1924 and 1926 reunions for his valor. An attendee at the 1924 reunion in San Antonio, noted Texas author and folklorist J. Frank Dobie interviewed Glenn, preserving the first-hand story of his famous trip for future generations. In 1931, at the age of 80, Glenn died of pneumonia at his home in Glidden. John Edward Folts once said of Glenn, "of such stuff were the old trail drivers, white and black, made…," and today Glenn is remembered for his bravery and loyalty, an example of the hard-working trail drivers of the late nineteenth century. (2003)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born into slavery in 1850 and raised on a Colorado County ranch, George Glenn trained as a cowhand and trail cook and stayed on the Johnson Ranch as a free man after Emancipation. On an 1870 cattle drive to Abilene his employer, Bob Johnson, died; after the herd was sold, Glenn disinterred the body and drove it nearly 800 miles home by wagon over six weeks for reburial. Honored decades later at Old Trail Drivers reunions and interviewed by folklorist J. Frank Dobie, he became one of the few Black members remembered by name from the great cattle-drive era.
Why it matters
Glenn's remarkable act of loyalty preserves the too-often-erased role of African American cowboys, who made up a large share of the drovers who built the western cattle trade.
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Related people
- · George Glenn
- · Robert B. "Bob" Johnson
- · J. Frank Dobie
- · John Edward Folts
Related events
- · Emancipation
Themes & tags
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