Hittson, John Nathan, 1831-1880.

Born Oct. 11, 1831, in Tennessee. Came with his family to Palo Pinto County, Texas, in 1851. Married Salina Frances Brown, 1851, and had ten children. In 1857 he was elected the county's first sheriff. Hittson began his rise as as cattleman after the Civil War and in 1867 he and John S. Chisum supplied beef to the Navajos in exile at Fort Sumner. In the 1870s, their cattle drives were extended into New Mexico. Hittson's Three Circle Ranch headquarters was on Battle Creek in Callahan County. In 1872, Indian depredations prompted him to purchase ranch land in Deer Trail, Colorado, where he also raised Merino sheep. He was killed by a runaway team on Dec. 25, 1880.