Harley True Burton

Harley True Burton (September 5, 1888- October 1964) [ [http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index Interactive Search ] ] was a Texas historian, college president, and small-town mayor. He was born in Decatur, the seat of Wise County, located north of Fort Worth.Harley True Burton exhibit, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas]

Burton attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he procured a master of arts degree in history, having studied under the well-known historian of Texas, Eugene C. Barker (1874-1956). Burton's thesis was entitled "A History of the JA Ranch", a still-functioning cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle. The JA was originally owned by Charles Goodnight and John G. Adair, whose financial backing entitled him to the "JA" brand, meaning "John Adair". Burton's work was considered especially significant in that the early records of the JA Ranch were destroyed by fire in 1890. [ [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txdonley/dranches.html Donley County Ranches ] ] The thesis was first published in the "Southwestern Historical Quarterly" in 1927-1928. [ [http://www.tshaonline.org/publications/journals/shq/online/v031/n2/article_3.html SHQ Online :: Volume 031 Number 2 :: A HISTORY OF THE J A RANCH ] ] It was then published in book form and republished in 1966. It is again an out-of-print rare and sought after book. [Harley True Burton, "A History of the JA Ranch", Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1928; reprinted New York: Argonaut, 1966] .

In 1918, Burton accepted a position teaching science and coaching football at Clarendon College, a two-year junior college in Clarendon, the seat of Donley County. The institution was originally affiliated with the Methodist Church. When Burton became the college president, the school became nonsectarian and gained state funding. He served as president until his retirement in 1953.

In 1955, Burton was elected mayor of Clarendon and served until 1963.

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