Keith, George D. (George Donathan), 1875-1955

George D. Keith, Sr. was born 1875 in Falmouth, Tennessee and later became Vice-President and co-founder of the Ben E. Keith Company. He was a rancher and owned the George D. Keith & Sons Ranch near Wichita Falls, Texas. Keith's ranching interests included the breeding of registered Hereford cattle and Palomino horses. He served as the first president of the Texas and Oklahoma Fair Association and was active in civic affairs. In 1897, Keith married Meta Ransom with whom he had two sons, George, Jr. and Calvin. His second wife, Mollie Black, whom he married in 1908, also bore two sons. Ben E. Keith, his brother, operated the Ben E. Keith Company, a fruit and vegetable brokerage, from its Fort Worth headquarters. Mollie Black Keith and her sons, Kenneth and Jim, operated the ranch after George Keith's death in 1955. Mollie Keith died in 1973 and Jim Keith was killed during a robbery at the ranch in 1975. Kenneth later donated some of the antiques from the ranch house to the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University.

From the guide to the George D. Keith Family Papers, S 521. 1., 1912-1977 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University, )

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