ANNOUNCEMENT
Morris (Rafter 3) Ranch Company, Records,1855-1982 and undated
Now Available
This collection of 38 boxes includes business and personal correspondence, financial material, legal material such as deeds and abstracts, livestock records, oil and gas records, survey records, printed material, and scrapbook material of J. P. Morris, Mattie B. Miller, the Morris family, the Miller family, and Morris (Rafter 3) Ranch activities. The Series break down is below.
- Correspondence, 1887-1977
- Financial Material, 1871-1982 and undated
- Legal Material, 1855-1981 and undated
- Printed Material, 1897-1949 and undated
- Scrapbook Material, 1874-1977 and undated
- Artifacts, undated
- Oversized Financial Materials, 1911-1960s
- Oversized Books, 1912-1914
The Morris-Miller ranching material stems from the ranching activity of J. P. Morris of Coleman, Texas and his descendants, especially the Mattie B. Miller family. J. P. Morris began his ranching career at a young age trailing cattle herds to northern markets. By 1884, he purchased land in the Jim Ned Valley of Coleman County and moved his family there in 1888. He added to his holdings so that he eventually built a ranching empire of 100,000 acres. He later became involved in banking, and real estate. His daughter Mattie B. Miller along with her children established the Rafter 3 Ranch from their share of the Morris Ranch holdings. They used the original Morris brand. One of her sons, Morris Miller ran the Shackelford County operations. Doris Miller the daughter of Morris Miller, currently runs the Bluff Creek Ranch of Shackelford County.