Who was N C Gullett?

Answer 1

N. C. (Newton Cannon) Gullett 1822-1900 was a merchant and rancher. Born in Maury County, TN he lived for a time in Mississippi then went to New Orleans where he became a cotton commission agent. From there he went to San Antonio, Texas where he operated a finance business and dealt in land speculation. He acquired several thousand acres and a coal mine in Texas before returning to New Orleans where he once again engaged in the sale of wines and liquors. He was ordered out of New Orleans in 1861 by order of Union General Ben Butler as an enemy of the Federal Government and he enlisted in Millaudon's Company (Jefferson Mounted Rifles) CSA. He served under Generals Richardson and Forrest and attained the rank of Captain in the Ordnance Department.

Following the war he returned to New Orleans and dealt very profitably in the cotton commission business amassing a sizable fortune. In 1872 he married Charlotte Osborn Bernard who was possessed of a large undeveloped tract of land recently inherited from her father. The two embarked for Texas to turn the dormant property into a profitable venture. They called the 25,000 contiguous acres located upon the San Antonio and Guadalupe Rivers, Guadalupe, Hynes and San Antonio Bays TIVOLI RANCH.

A pioneer in cattle upbreeding, the ranch settled on Scotch polled angus as the breed most adaptable to the harsh coastal climate. In 1876 the ranch is supposed to have been the first in Texas to fence its pastures with wire fence. The Gullett's brought the first telegraph into Refugio County, established the Tivoli US Post Office in 1877 and financed railroads in the area.

Captain Gullett died in the hurricane of 1900 which also devastated Galveston Island. He is believed buried beneath a large monument in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria, Texas.