Edgar Thomas Neal

Edgar Thomas Neal. . Born to Hamilton and Mary (Pedigo) Neal in the Fairview community in Wilson County, Edgar T. Neal (1869-1946) was a famed San Saba lawman. Early in his adult life, he followed his father and cultivated a close connection with the Masonic fraternity. On November 25, 1895, Neal became a Texas Ranger when he enlisted in John H. Rogers Company E, Frontier Battalion. A few months later, Company E was ordered to stop the famous Maher-Fitzsimmons prizefight. In the late 1800s, San Saba County was under the rule of the vigilante group known as the "San Saba Mob." Neal was part of the ranger force ordered to quell the violence and murders, which successfully brought mob rule to an end., In 1898, Neal was elected sheriff and his tenure slowly brought law and order back to San Saba County. He was re-elected as sheriff and tax collector for three more terms, ending his service in 1906 and moving to Fort Worth. Neal returned to San Saba County and served as sheriff from 1918-1925. However, the Ku Klux Klan and the public's pushback against prohibition laws ran afoul of Sheriff Neal. In 1924, he was voted out in favor of a Klan candidate. In 1925, Neal was appointed deputy game, fish and oyster commissioner for central Texas. He was an active wildlife conservationist working with the Izaak Walton League. In 1929, Neal relocated to Lubbock where he again served as a ranger from June 1930-January 1933 and February 1935-July 1936. He served as security for the Marshall Ford Dam project and later for the Republic Oil Company in Houston. His last position was chief of police for Galena Park, where he died in office. Throughout his long career, Edgar T. Neal spent his life on the forefront of law and order, active in wildlife conservation and the Masonic fraternity.