Rebecca Byrd Masterson (January 19, 1882 – September 22, 1969) was an American petroleum geologist. Masterson was born and raised in Galveston, Texas. She was a survivor of the 1900 Galveston hurricane, losing her mother in the carnage. With the passing of her mother, Masterson took over the domestic duties in her household. She eventually attended university receiving her Bachelor of Science, and paving her career in geology as an independent geologist. She made many contributions to the field of geology over the course of her career. Until her death on September 22, 1969, she kept the mineral rights in more than 20 Texas counties and a tungsten mine in Colorado.
Family life Masterson lost her mother in the 1900 Galveston hurricane that she survived. Masterson had one brother and one sister, Wilmer D. Masterson and Lewis Fisher. Masterson also employed her nephews to mine the ore in her tungsten mine in Nederland. Both her great niece, Amanda Masterson, and her great-great nephew, Wilmer Dallam Masterson IV, attended UT. During the year 1908, Reba's father, Branch T. Masterson, had filed a lawsuit on the behalf of his wife inheritance, who had died in the 1900 Great Galveston Hurricane. Branch Masterson worked with a wealthy lawyer named John W Harris, who had an adopted daughter, Anne Wilmer Dallam. Masterson would end up marrying Dallam (Reba's mother), however, at the time of their marriage it was the general consensus that Harris did not legally adopt her, but just generously took her in. Several years later, Harris would die as a Judge and his estate handed down to his natural children, since the adoption had scepticism surrounding it, Dallam was not on that list. Therefore, Branch filed the lawsuit after finding legitimate adoption papers. The finding of the papers meant that Reba's mother had a claim to Harris's estate. Reba first attended the University of Texas in the same year that her father filed the lawsuit. The lawsuit carried on for nine years against close family friends, the Harrises. Reba missed several semesters during the years 1910, 1911 and 1912, which could be explained by helping her father with the lawsuit. After nine long years, the lawsuit was completed in 1917, with Reba and her other family members as beneficiaries (according to the Houston Post) to a settlement which concluded with land holdings in 60 Texas counties and shares in the Galveston Wharf. The total value of the shares and properties topped out at $2,223,860, which due to inflation, would have a grand total of $43,917,065.26 in 2019. Due to the winnings, after years of hardship, Reba and her family had a way to get ahead in the world. Her father, Branch used this opportunity as an way to become more involved with the oil business. Branch ended up becoming a director in The New York and Texas Oil Companies. According to “Budge” (Anthony Dallam) Sheppard, Reba's great nephew, there is a family story where Reba lost a hand of poker to Dad Joiner, where the pot consisted of an oil and gas lease. Furthermore, Budge also accounted for a story where Reba was testifying as a witness in a lawsuit and received several threats trying to deter her from testifying. In response to the threats, her father, Branch, purchased an .32 caliber pistol for her to travel to and from the trials with. Reba Masterson had a noted influence on her family who continues to love petroleum geology. Reba's great-great nephew, Wilmer Dallam Masterson IV is a University of Texas graduate in geology and works in the oil and gas business. Furthermore, his daughter, Kathleen, is in the process of completing her degree in geology at Colorado State University. Moreover, Reba's great niece, Amanda Masterson, spent the duration of her career at the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology. Amanda, while working for the Bureau, discovered a prospect map of a configuration south of Castroville, which Reba, when she was 49, submitted to the Bureau while doing consulting work for them.
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