Exum

Robert Benjamin (Ben) Masterson, an early Panhandle cattleman, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Ann (Gotcher) Masterson, was born on December 12, 1853, in Colbert County, Alabama. The family moved to Travis County in 1854 and later to Round Rock in Williamson County. Masterson wanted to follow his father in the freighting and cattle business. In addition to teaching school, he started buying, selling, borrowing, and trading stock. Gradually, he accumulated a herd of his own, which he branded with a Long S. In October 1880 Masterson married Sallie Lee Exum of Lampasas. They had two children. During the next three years, Masterson and his nephews, Robert and Charles Hamilton, continued driving Long S cattle north over the Western Trail