Freeman Weedman Burford

While looking up the Burford-Egan-Dean connection, I found this bio of Freeman Burford, the father of Byron's sister's husband. He died in early 1967 and I never met him. More stories about him in next post.

Freeman Weedman Burford was the son of Guy and Harriet (Weedman) Burford.
He was a successful oilman.

Freeman Weedman Burford was born 8
August 1900 in Farmer City, IL to Guy Ernest
and Harriet (Weedman) Burford. The family
moved in 1905 to Muskogee, OK where Guy
Burford entered the oil business. Ultimately,
the family moved to Dallas, TX. Freeman
Burford died 7 January 1967 aboard the
steamship, Mariposa, as he and his wife were
returning from Australia where they had been
visiting the U.S Ambassador to that country.

Mr. Burford was a prominent public figure for
four decades and once considered running for
Governor of Texas. He was a distinguished
veteran of World War II in which he was
awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Legion of
Merit, Croix de Guerre and the French Legion of
Honor.

Freeman Burford attended public schools in Muskogee and was a graduate of Shattuck
Military School in Fairbault, MN. He attended the University of Oklahoma School of
Law.

He entered the oil business in Oklahoma in 1921 and in 1926 moved to Shreveport, LA
where he was Vice President and General Manager of Crystal Oil Refining Corp. He was
the organizer and General Manager of Burford Oil Company in Pecos, TX in 1929 and of
the East Texas Refining Company in 1931.

He was a pioneer producer and the first refiner in the East Texas oil fields, selling his
producing properties to Magnolia Petroleum Company in 1935 to become an independent
producer and natural gasoline manufacturer in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.

He entered the Second World War and was a graduate of the Command and General Staff
School in Fort Leavenworth, KS. He was a full Colonel and oversaw the operation of
3,500 miles of gasoline pipelines, which supported the Allied war efforts. He was
awarded medals to commemorate his performance in those roles.

After the War, he became President of the Sid Richardson Refining Company (1947-
1960); owner and President, Harbor Terminal Company (1959-1962) and was an
independent oil operator at the time of his death.

He married Carolyn Skelly, daughter of William G. Skelly who founded Skelly Oil
Company in May 1927. They had three children: William S. Burford, Ann Burford,
and Carolyn Burford.

The couple was divorced after 1935 and Mr. Burford later married Jacqueline Faison of
Greenville, AL. There were no children of this marriage.

Mr. Burford was a colorful and strong personality. He was a strong proponent of Texas
industrialization and was in great demand as a speaker in the 1930s when he proposed a
program to make credit available to tenant farmers to buy their own farms. He considered
running for Governor of Texas but declined.

He was a key figure as a custodian of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during which time the
enterprise prospered.

In 1935, Freeman Burford bought a large home in the Dallas area that was destined to
become what is now the Mansion at Turtle Creek Hotel. After the divorce, Carolyn
Skelly Burford retained the house for many years and reverted to the use of her maiden
name. Articles have been written about the house and featured in the Dallas Morning
News.

The first Mrs. Freeman W. Burford (Carolyn Skelly) was a colorful figure in her own
right having suffered more than one jewel robbery and theft. She died in 1996 in her
home in Newport, R.I. An article in the December 1999 issue of Vanity Fair gave an
account of Carolyn Skelly.

Freeman Weedman Burford achieved considerable success both in business and in the
Dallas community at large. He was arguably one of the most successful business people
in the Weedman family.