LETTER TO THE EDITOR
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Concho Observer recently received a letter written by the descendent of a relative named in the last will and testament of Mr. J.D. Sugg, who was featured in a 2025 article.
The original article has been corrected to reflect the correct information.
To Whom It May Concern:
I recently read an article written by Matthew McDaniel featured in The Concho Observer entitled “The Day The Richest Man In Texas Died.” The article was dated October 25, 2025.
As the great granddaughter of Nettie Bagby McGowan of Cotton Plant, Arkansas, I felt I needed to submit this email requesting a correction to this article.
In the article it had stated that one of the heirs of J.D. Sugg was Nettie McCown of Cotton Plant, Arkansas.
Her actual name was Nettie Bagby McGowan. She was the daughter of J.D. Sugg’s older sister, Mary Sugg Bagby.
Nettie Bagby had three children, Etoile Canterbury, Dorothea McGowan and Calvin Meehan McGowan, my grandfather. Calvin Meehan McGowan married Pauline McFall and had three children, John Meehan McGown, Calvin Browning McGowan and James Bagby McGowan. All residents of Cotton Plant, Arkansas.
My father, Calvin Browning McGowan, inherited the Twin Mountain ranch land from his grandmother, Nettie McGowan and began his ranching career upon his graduation from Texas A&M University in 1948 in Animal Husbandry.
He owned and operated the Twin Mountain Ranch from 1949 until his death in 2016. He married Charles Anne Walling in 1951 who was also in the ranching industry.
They were residents of San Angelo, Texas for over 70 years and had 4 children.
I realize that the section of the article referenced a will dated September 4, 1925.
Knowing that several wills of that era were hand-written and that McCown and McGowan are similar and could be misinterpreted, I am just trying to correct the historical inaccuracies presented in this article.
In addition, I am aware that this article was published last year, but since it is still in circulation online, I respectfully request that The Concho Observer correct the incorrect historical data within this particular article.
Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.
