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Thomas
Bailey Saunders
January 22, 1999
 Thomas
Bailey Saunders, son of Nimrod Saunders, was born October 9, 1816, at Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina. Thomas married
Elizabeth Emma Harper on August 25, 1841 in Alabama. Elizabeth was born November 26, 1824 in Birmingham, Alabama.
According to an historical marker at the Saunders Park in Fort Worth Texas, Thomas was a native of North Carolina. He had migrated to Texas in 1850, after a short stay in Alabama, and started a cattle ranch near Gonzales, Texas, a place called Rancho. Later in 1859, he moved to a ranch located on Lost Creek in Goliad County. As stated in the History of the Cattlemen of Texas, " In 1859, he (Thomas) moved to Goliad County, where he resided until 1880, when he became a resident of the eastern portion of Bexar County, where the station of Saunders, which was later established as the Gulf Shore Railroad in that locality, was named for him." The railroad pick-up stop for cattle, which was 4 miles from Sayers, was 17 miles east of downtown San Antonio. Two of Saunders' 12 children were also involved in the cattle industry.
Thomas fought in the Civil War, along with his sons Matt and Bill. After the Civil War, he completed cattle drives to markets in New Orleans and Kansas before settling in Bexar County.
Thomas died at the Saunders' homestead, Saunders Station, on May 26, 1902. He was, during his life in Texas, a successful farmer and stockman, well known to all the early residents of the state."
The 12 children of Thomas and Elizabeth include James Madison (Matt), William David Harris, Nancy Tibitha, Sarah Ann, Andrew Jackson,
George Washington, Steven Allen, John Calhoun, Mary Elizabeth, Thomas Harper, and Pallie Katherine.
Elizabeth died November 6, 1893 at Sayers, Bexar County, Texas. Thomas and Elizabeth are buried at the family plot at Salem Cemetery in Sayers, Texas.
 Today,
there is a Saunders park in the heart of downtown Fort Worth named after
Thomas Bailey Saunders. There you will find an historical marker detailing
some of the above information. (Click the image to see a larger view.)
Thomas Bailey is also well known in connection with the stockyards in San
Antonio. Thomas' son, George Washington
Saunders, is recognized by a
historical plaque at the Fort Worth Stockyards. Descendants of this
line still reside near Fort Worth.
 The Texas Cowboys : Cowboys of the Lone Star State
by David R. Stoecklein (Photographer), Bob Moline (Illustrator), Tom B., IV
Saunders, Dan Streeter (Editor)
Buy it Now: The Texas Cowboys : Cowboys of the
Lone Star State
Hardcover
- 252 pages (August 1997)
Stoecklein Pub; ISBN:
0922029601 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.33 x 13.60 x 12.63
The text in this amazing book has been
compiled by a fifth generation Texas Cowboy, who's forefathers were all in
the cow business. Tom B. Saunders IV has had an eye for history ever since
is grandmother, Carrie Belle Poindexter, herself a history teacher in the
Ft. Worth school system, started telling him stories about Texas history.
Mr. Saunder's great grandfather, Thomas Bailey Saunders I, sold cattle to
the Confederate Army and delivered them to New Orleans in 1863 from San
Antonio, Texas with his 17 year old son the trail driver. New Orleans was
however occupied by the Yankee's and....? Then 60 years later, T.B.
Saunders II was one of the founders of the San Antonio Stockyards.
Saunders was reputed to be the largest cattle dealer from 1910 to 1920. He
had extensive ranch operations in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Then T. B.
Saunders III became the first consignee  at the Ft. Worth Stockyards. The
family operated there for 75 years. For a short time, Saunders employeed
the likes of the famous Will Rogers on his ranch. Saunders III was a
founder of the National Cutting Horse Assn. and was president in 1949. His
son-in-law, Jim Calhoun, later won the World Champoinship with King's
Pistol and followed Saunder's lead by becoming President of the NCHA.
There is so much more, you just need to build you a campfire some evening
and sit down with this magnificent book. If you like history, you'll be
spellbound! Comments by J. Walter Coffey, first cousin to T. B. Saunders
IV.
Tom B. Saunders IV, photo
from Texas Highways, December 2000.
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