The following is a partial account of the life and times of Edgar T. Neal. This story will be the final chapter or Part III of the book, The Texas Rangers & the San Saba Mob. This series is the narrative for the application of a new Texas Historical Subject Marker for San Saba County. Endnotes are available upon request. Ross J. Cox, Sr.
Part 1.
At the end of the War for Southern Independence (1861-1865), Texas was a wreck. The disenfranchised Confederates returned home as a second-class citizens facing the nightmare of Yankee Reconstruction run by carpet baggers, scalawags, and turncoats. This lack of law and order was a dream for cattle rustlers, horse thieves, army deserters, and desperate criminals. Lawlessness was rampant and San Saba County was no exception. 1
San Saba County is in Central Texas within the Llano Basin region. It was carved from Bexar County in 1856 by an act of the Sixth Texas Legislature. At that time, it was isolated on the extreme western frontier of the state. Its isolation was an open invitation to the criminal element and mobs. By 1878, law enforcement and the justice systems were in shambles. The San Saba Mob had practically seized control of the courthouse and the surrounding counties of Brown, McCulloch, and Mills. There were so many murders and assassinations that by 1897, the Texas Rangers were called in to secure order and break the power of the Mob. 2
One of those Rangers was Edgar Thomas Neal. He was a key player in the investigation of the Mob which helped indict the two captains of the organization, and eventually secured the life conviction of another. In 1898, the voters of the county were so fed up with the whole Mob affair, that every elected official was voted out of office. The new sheriff was no other than Edgar T. Neal. 3
Neal lived a remarkable life. He served in the Rangers three separate occasions: 1895-1898, 1930-1933, 1935-1936, and was Sheriff of San Saba County for a total of sixteen years (1898-1906, 1916-1925). In 1925, he was commissioned as a Deputy Game Warden of the Texas Fish and Oyster Commission (predecessor to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department). He was also an active conservationist with the Izaak Walton League and was involved with the West Texas Sheriff's Association. He was an active Freemason and belonged to San Saba Lodge No. 612, the Order of Eastern Star, and the York Right Chapter and Council of San Saba. 4
This is Part 1 of a series of 9 parts - to be continued. . .