 oliver loving (december 4, 1812 â september 25, 1867) was a rancher and cattle drover. together with charles goodnight, he developed the goodnight-loving trail. he was mortally wounded by indians while on a cattle drive. loving county, texas, the smallest county in the united states in population, is named in his honor. ==early life== oliver loving was born on december 4, 1812 in hopkins county, kentucky.richard dunham, today in texas history: trailblazer oliver loving dies, houston chronicle, september 25, 2010a guide to the oliver loving letters, 1862, the university of texas at austin: briscoe center for american historyjulia cauble smith, "loving, oliver," handbook of texas online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/flo38), accessed august 12, 2014. uploaded on june 15, 2010. published by the texas state historical association.richard melzer, buried treasures: famous and unusual gravesites in new mexico history, santa fe, new mexico: sunstone press, 2007, p. 105  his father was joseph loving and his mother, susannah mary bourland. ==career== in 1833, he became a farmer in muhlenberg county, kentucky. ten years later, with his brother and his brother-in-law, he moved to the republic of texas with their families. in texas, loving received 640 acres (2.6&nbsp;kmÂ²) of land in three patents spread through three counties collin, dallas, and parker. he farmed and, to feed his growing family, hauled freight in his early years as a texan. by 1855, he moved with his family to the future palo pinto county, texas, where he ran a country store and ranched on keechi creek. by 1857, he owned a thousand acres (4&nbsp;kmÂ²) of land. to market his large herd, he drove them out of texas and in that same year he entrusted his nineteen-year-old son, joseph,
1812_births 1864_deaths American_cattlemen American_pioneers Deaths_from_gangrene People_from_Hopkins_County,_Kentucky People_from_Muhlenberg_County,_Kentucky People_from_Palo_Pinto_County,_Texas People_from_Weatherford,_Texas Ranchers_from_Texas Texas_Republicans