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OBITUARY Ranchman, Farmer, John Furneaux, Dies
John L. Furneaux, early Texas rancher whose belief in scientific
farming turned cattle ranges into farm lands, died Tuesday at his home,
4209 Beverly Drive.
Furneaux had lived in or near Dallas all his life. In recent years, he
had gradually sold the wide West Texas Texas holdings he accumulated as
a cattleman. He kept a strong interest in the development of ways to
improve land.
In the days when England was spending dollars to develop this country,
Furneaux negotiated loans for British firms. Banks often called on him
before making the final decision on a cattle loan.
Though he was never a real-estate man, Furneaux owned and sold thousands
of acres.
Born in 1872 sixteen miles north of Dallas, Furneaux was the son of Mr.
and Mrs. William Furneaux, who immigrated to Texas from Dovershire,
England in 1852. He went from a private school near his home to
public schools of Dallas and attended Texas A&M College.
He formed a company with two of his brothers to buy ranches in Gray
County, the Panhandle and Lamb County. When the later South Plains
county was divided into farms, the company was credited with developing
it as an agricultural center.
The one-time ranges now produce cotton, wheat, and Sudan grass, a
prolific grass which gave the town Sudan its name.
The brothers fattened a thousand cattle a year on their ranges. Furneaux
was best known as a feeder of cattle for his motto "Get 'em fat fast,
and if they don't eat, make 'em eat." If they needed molasses and
cake, he would feed them that.
He shipped cattle to England from the part of Dallas, then called the
Beef Lot, now Turtle Creek estates.
Furneaux had a reputation for being able to guess the weight of a herd
of cattle within a few pounds. In those days, cattle were sold on the
estimates of men who judged the weight at a glance.
Furneaux carried out government programs to improve farm lands by
scientific terracing, eliminating Johnson grasses and proper and
extensive fertilization. A believer in mechanization, he was quick to
replace the horse and mule with machinery.
Furneaux was a member of the Highland Park Methodist Church.
Surviving are his wife, two sons, W. Fred Furneaux of Dallas and
John L.
Furneaux Jr. of Houston; a sister, Mrs. J. R. McFarland of Dallas; a
brother, W. C. Furneaux of Carrollton and a granddaughter.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Sparkman Brand
Funeral Chapel, 2115 Ross, Dr. Marshall T. Steel will officiate. Burial
will be in the old family
burial ground at Cemetery Hill off Preston Road.
Pallbearers will be William H. Furneaux, Schuyler B. Worthington, William
Worthington, Frank Jones, W. L. Furneaux and Harry Jackson
The Dallas Morning News
Submitted by Edward Lynn
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