USA > Texas > The history and geography of Texas as told in county names > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
C. Grimes, a son of Jesse Grimes, was one of the heroes of the Alamo, killed there in the eighteenth year of his age.
HARDEMAN.
This county was named for the distinguished brothers, Bailey and Thomas Jones Hardeman, who came to Texas in 1835. They were born in Davidson County, Tenn., about three miles from Nashville, the for- mer on February 26, 1785, and the latter January 31, 1788. They were sons of Thomas Har- deman, one of the first settlers of Middle Tennessee, a delegate from Davidson County to the convention which assembled at Hillsboro in 1788 to consider the ratification of the Constitution of the United States by North Carolina, and also a member of the convention that framed the first Constitution of Tennessee. He afterward moved down into Southwest Tennessee and was one of the leaders in organizing a new county named in his honor, "Hardeman." Here the sons were reared and educated. Bailey Hardeman studied law in Nashville and located at Bol-
110
THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
ivar, the county seat of Hardeman County, and was in the full practice of his profession when the Texas revolution broke out. In company with his brother, Thomas J., he came to Texas in 1835 and located in Matagorda. They had hardly set- tled down before they entered the active service of Texas. Bailey Hardeman was elected a delegate to the convention which declared independence and took part in the organization of the government ad interim; he was chosen Secretary of the Treasury in President Burnet's Cabinet and died about three months later.
Thomas J. Hardeman was married twice, his first wife be- ing Miss Mary Polk, daughter of Ezekiel Polk of Bolivar, Tenn., and near relative of President James K. Polk. His second marriage was to Eliza DeWitt, daughter of the Empresario DeWitt. Among his children two sons became prominent in the military history of the State, Thomas M. Hardeman hav- ing been in the San Jacinto campaign, in the hotly contested Indian fight at Plum Creek and in the Somervell expedition, while William P. Hardeman, after serving in various capaci- ties, rose to the position of Brigadier General in the Confed- erate Army, where he became conspicuous for his bravery in many hard fought battles. Thomas J. Hardeman represented Matagorda County in the Texas Congress in 1837-8, and was the first to suggest that the new capital be named for the Father of Texas. Later he moved to Bastrop County, and served in the State Legislature. He was grand master of the lodge of Masons of Texas in 1850. A few years later he died at his home in Bastrop County, Texas. Both of these men have numerous descendants in Texas prominent in social, business and political circles.
HARDIN.
This county was named in honor of the Hardins of Liberty. The family came to Texas in 1825. There were five brothers, viz: Benjamin Watson, Augustine Blackburn, William, Frank and Milton A. Hardin, sons of Swan and Jerusha Blackburn Hardin. The parents moved from Franklin County, Ga., to
111
AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
Maury County, Tenn., in 1807, and resided there until 1825, when they came to Texas and located in what is now Liberty County, on the Trinity River.
Benjamin Watson, the oldest son, became a member of the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1844. He also served as sheriff for a number of years. He died January 2, 1850, at his home in Liberty County.
Augustine Blackburn Hardin, the second son, became a prom- inent citizen shortly after the arrival of the family in Texas.
He represented Liberty in the convention of 1833, and in the Consultation of 1835, and in the convention of 1836, which declared independence, being one of the signers of that dec- laration. After annexation he ceased to take an active part in politics and retired to Liberty County, where he died, July 27, 1871, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Janet Green, about eight miles north of Liberty. He was buried at the old family burying ground, two miles below.
William Hardin held the office of Alcalde and later of Pri- mary Judge in Liberty County. He then located in Galveston and died in July, 1839.
Franklin Hardin was appointed surveyor of Liberty in 1834, and at the beginning of the revolution, in 1835, he promptly enlisted in the service and was elected First Lieutenant in Lo- gan's company of Sherman's regiment and participated in the battle of San Jacinto. After the battle he tendered the use of his premises adjacent to Liberty for keeping prisoners cap- tured in that battle, and the humane treatment they received there was the subject of special praise by Mexicans in their subsequent reports to their countrymen.
On the 9th of July he organized a militia force and was made captain and in the same year was appointed surveyor of Liberty County. In 1867 he was elected to the Legislature. After this he retired to his home at Liberty and died there in 1878.
Milton Ashley Hardin, the youngest of the brothers, removed to Johnson County and died at Cleburne in 1894.
The Liberty County of the Republic of Texas embraced not only the present County of Liberty, but also the present Coun-
112
THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
ties of Hardin, Chambers, Polk, San Jacinto, Tyler, and, until 1838, Galveston.
MARTIN.
This county was named for Wylie Martin, who was born in Georgia in 1774. He taught school for a short time. In 1812 he was a scout under General Harrison in the northwest; was with General Jackson at the battle of Horse Shoe, and a captain in the United States Army. In 1825 he came to Texas and later was appointed an Alcalde in Austin's col- ony. For a time he was the political chief of the Department of Brazos. He was at first opposed to declaring independence as being premature. He became a member of the Consultation in 1835. When war seemed inevitable he raised a company and joined General Houston's Army at the Colorado River. He was sent to Fort Bend to guard the crossing of the Brazos, and afterward was sent to the Trinity to aid the fleeing popula- tion in crossing that river. He later served in the Congress of the Republic of Texas and died while a member of that body in 1842.
MITCHELL.
This county was named for Asa and Eli Mitchell, brothers, who came to Texas in 1822. Asa was born in Pennsylvania in 1786, was reared and educated there and was married in 1816. From Pennsylvania he went to Kentucky in 1820. While visiting New Orleans he met Stephen F. Austin and came to Texas and settled in the year 1822 as one of Austin's orig- inal 300 colonists. His wife died in 1834. In 1835 he was a member of the Consultation and later a member of the Consti- tutional Convention of 1836 and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. After the adjournment of the convention, March 17, he joined General Houston's Army and participated in the battle of San Jacinto. He first resided at Velasco, then re- moved to Bexar, where he resided up to his death, in 1865. Eli Mitchell, his brother, moved to Gonzales and died there some time in the seventies.
113
AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
NAVARRO.
This county was named for Juan Antonio Navarro, who was born in San Antonio February 27, 1795. He was appointed Land Commissioner for DeWitt's Colony in 1831, and in 1834-5 was Land Commissioner for Bexar District. He was a con- sistent Republican and an im- placable foe to despotism in any form. He, with Samuel A. Mav- erick, was elected delegate from Bexar to the convention which declared independence and framed the Constitution of the Republic in March, 1836. He be- came a member of the Texas Congress in 1838. In 1840 he accompanied the Santa Fe Ex- pedition as a commissioner to treat with the New Mexicans; was captured and carried to the Castle of Juan d'Ulloa, where he was kept in close confine- ment until his release in 1845. He was an object of special hatred by Santa Anna, who condemned him to imprisonment for life, though during his captivity he was offered his liberty and high office if he would forever abjure Texas. Being a native Mexican and Texan, his zeal in behalf of Texas aroused all the ire of Santa Anna. Santa Anna was succeeded by Her- rera, a liberal, in 1845, and he released Navarro. He arrived at Galveston in February, 1845, after an absence of four and a half years. Upon his return home he was immediately elected a delegate to the convention which framed the first State Constitution, in 1845, and afterward served his district in the State Senate. He died in San Antonio in 1870, univer- sally beloved and respected by all patriots in Texas. His father was a native of Corsica, and in compliment to Na- varro the county site was named Corsicana.
8
114
THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
POTTER.
In Section 2 of Chapter CXIV, Acts of 1878, there is the following language: "The County of Potter is named in honor of Robert Potter, a distinguished Texan in the days of the Re- public."
Wheeler, in his history of North Carolina, says of him : "Robert Potter was a resident and representative from Gran- ville County. I once thought, after I had prepared a sketch of him, that I would omit it, and pass in silence the name of one who had been a member of this county in the Assembly and the Representative of his district in Congress. But truth demands that not only the good should be noticed, but those who have been notorious for other qualities. This, too, may have a moral effect. It was the custom of the Lacedemonians to intoxicate their servants on certain occasions before their young children, that their young minds, seeing vice in so fright- ful a mien, might avoid its seductions. Robert Potter was a man of no ordinary powers of intellect. With an address which would have graced the most polished court in Europe, with powers of eloquence that could command the listening aud- itors, and sway them to his will, and an energy that shrunk from no obstacle or opposition, had his early education been elevated by the piety of the mother of Gaston, his fierce and ferocious temper tamed by parental persuasion, his name might have stood
"High on the dusty rolls which ages keep."
"He was a native of Granville. He entered the navy as a midshipman and after a few years resigned and studied law. He entered into public life as a member of the House of Com- mons from Halifax in 1826. At Halifax his turbulent temper embroiled him in many difficulties. On one occasion, at an election in which Potter was opposed by Jesse A. Bynum, a fracas occurred at which one man was killed and the election broken up. He removed to Granville, from which he was
115
AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
elected to the House of Commons in 1828. This was an extra- ordinary period. The financial condition of North Carolina was deplorable. The banks had become neglectful to their duty, and disregarded their charters. Mr. Potter opened the ses- sion by a resolution of inquiry. The inquiry produced a com- mittee, of which he was chairman; the affairs of the banks were investigated; much evil and malfeasance were proved. The committee reported a bill to prosecute the banks. This bill, after a long, heated and angry discussion, passed by one vote ; but the Speaker (Hon. Thomas Settle) voting with the minor- ity defeated its becoming a law. This gave Mr. Potter great popularity, and the next year he was elected to Congress in tri- umph over all opposition. His course in Congress was bril- liant and imposing. He was re-elected without opposition, but his career was to end soon in darkness and disgrace. On Sun- day, the 28th of August, 1831, moved by
"'Jealousy, that green-eyed monster That doth mock the meat it feeds upon,'
he committed a brutal maim on two relations of his wife. For those outrages he was brought before legal tribunals of the county and fined one thousand dollars and imprisoned six months. After serving an imprisonment of about two years he became a candidate for the Legislature and was elected in 1834."
Wheeler omits an important circumstance, that probably had its influence upon his removal to Texas in 1835. At that stage of our civilization, when poker playing and betting at cards was a favorite method of nocturnal entertainment with many solons, Potter's uniform success in "raking in the pot" caused a suspicion that he was playing the role of the "Heathen Chi- nee," and a little close watching verified the suspicion. The next day, the failure of Potter to give a square deal, resulted in a resolution by the House expelling him from that body for "cheating at cards."
The distant mutterings of the Texas revolution were then heard all over the East, and Potter shook the dust of North
116
THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
Carolina from his feet and hied himself away to Texas. He had been in Texas only a short time when the people of Nacog- doches sent him to the Constitutional convention which met at Washington, on the Brazos. After becoming a signer of the Declaration of Independence of Texas and participating in all the proceedings of that body, at no time hiding his light un- der a bushel, the fact that he had been a midshipman in the navy and had a brilliant and imposing career as a member for two terms in the United States Congress, added to his over- powering personality, gave him a place in the Cabinet as Secretary of the Navy. At a Cabinet meeting, after the battle of San Jacinto, he vigorously and eloquently insisted that Santa Anna be hanged, but wiser counsels prevailed. From that time, up to October, 1836, he served in this capacity and managed to get hold of a ship. What occurred on that ship is stated in as light form as the circumstances would permit in the case of Lewis vs. Ames, reported in the 44th Volume of Reports of the Supreme Court of Texas. He then moved back to the Red River country, procured a certificate for 4605 acres as the head of a family in North Carolina, and located the certificate on a beautiful tract of land overlooking Soda Lake, in the present County of Marion, moved on the land and made it his home. True to his instincts never to be in peace except when in war, he soon became mixed up in the feuds of that region and made deadly enemies, though he had enough followers to elect him Senator to the Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1840. At the adjournment of the last session in which he served he made his will and went home and was killed there March 2, 1842. At his death he was forty-two years old.
117
AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
RUSK.
This county was named for Thomas J. Rusk, who was born in Pendleton District, South Carolina, on the 5th of December, 1803. He studied law and removed to Clarksville, Ga., where he entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1834 some dishon- est agents ran away with the funds of a mining enterprise in which he was interested, and he followed them to Texas. He liked the coun- try and settled at Nacogdoches, where he began his career in Texas. In 1835 the Executive Council ap- pointed him Commissary of the army. In 1836 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Con- vention, and was later made Ad- jutant General of the army. He actively participated in the battle of San Jacinto. Later when Houston left for New Orleans he was appointed Commander-in-Chief. In the fall of 1836 he was made Secretary of War in the first Cabinet of Houston, but soon resigned to attend to his private affairs. He was elected to the Second Congress in Texas in 1837. In 1839 he commanded a regiment in the war against the Cherokees. In the same year he was appointed by the Congress of Texas Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to succeed James Col- lingsworth, deceased. In 1836 he was elected Major General of the militia. In 1845 he became President of the convention that framed the first State Constitution, and in the next year was elected Senator of the United States. This position he filled with credit to himself and great honor to Texas until his death. He died by his own hand on his plantation near Nacog- doches in 1857.
118
THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
SOMERVELL.
This county was named for Alexander Somervell, who was born in Maryland in 1796. In 1817 he went to Louisiana; thence to Missouri, where he engaged in merchandising. In 1833 he removed to San Felipe, Texas, and there engaged in the mercantile business. He took an active part in the Texas revolution, serving as Major in the campaign around Bexar in 1835 and later as Lieutenant Colonel of Burleson's regiment, in which capacity he participated in the battle of San Jacinto. For a time he was Secretary of War in the Burnet Cabinet, and was a Senator in the First Texas Congress. He served in the Indian Wars of 1839, and in 1842 was appointed Briga- dier General and put in command of the forces that pursued the retreating army of General Woll, and this pursuit has since been known as the Somervell Expedition. His forces separated at the Rio Grande and one portion returned with him to San Antonio. The other crossed the river and attacked Mier, and this march is usually called the Mier Expedition. After his return he was appointed Collector of Customs at Siluria, and held the office until annexation, and he was afterwards suc- cessively appointed until his death in 1854. He lost his life by drowning while on his way from the Lavaca River to Silu- ria, in January, 1854.
WALLER.
Edwin Waller was born in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, November, 1800. At an early age his father moved to Mis- souri, where he was reared and educated. He came to Texas in 1831 and located in Brazoria municipality. He took part in the battle of Velasco in 1832, and in 1833 was appointed Al- calde. He was a member of the Consultation in 1835 and of the Convention in 1836; was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1838-9 he was appointed one of the com- missioners to lay out the plan of the City of Austin and one of the principal streets and the creek, forming the original eastern boundary of the city, bear his name. He was chosen
119
AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
the first Mayor of the city in 1840. After the annexation he returned to his plantation in Austin County and for years was Chief Justice of the County and Representative for one term in the State Legislature. He represented the county in the Se- cession Convention of 1861. About the year 1876 he moved to Austin, but after a short residence returned to his plantation and died there in 1883.
WHARTON.
This county was named in honor of the distinguished broth- ers, William H. and John A. Wharton. They were descend- ants of an old and distinguished family in Virginia, and sons
J. A. WHARTON
W. H. WHARTON
of William Harris Wharton, a native of Albermarle County, Virginia.
About 1801, shortly after his marriage, the father removed to Nashville, Tenn., where both sons were born, William Har- ris Wharton in 1806 and John A. Wharton in 1809. Their father died in 1815, and their mother a short time afterward.
Jesse Wharton, their uncle, who had removed to Nashville from Virginia, took charge of the orphans and directed their
120
THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
education. He represented Tennessee in the lower house of Congress of the United States from 1807 to 1809, and in the Senate of the United States in 1816 and 1817.
After attending the preparatory schools, William H. Whar- ton entered the University of Nashville.
Henry A. Wise, in his most entertaining volume entitled "Seven Decades of the Union," says of him: "At the first commencement of the Nashville University, which occurred soon after our arrival there, a youth, William Wharton, was introduced and delivered an oration which marked him as a man of great promise. He was the pride of Rev. Dr. Linds- ley, who then presided over the Alma Mater of many other distinguished alumni of the West. Wharton delivered his salutatory and immediately went off to Texas to join Dr. Archer."
It is possible that a stronger magnet than political ambition lured Wharton to Texas. The beautiful and accomplished daughter of Jared E. Groce, the wealthiest man and the most extensive planter and largest slave holder in Texas, was bud- ding into womanhood about this time. She had come to Nash- ville to school. We do not know what occurred later except that she became the bride of Wharton. As soon as he arrived in Texas he became prominent in political affairs. In 1833 he was elected a delegate to the convention which met at San Felipe and was elected chairman of that body. The memorial prepared by him to Mexico for separate statehood is one of the ablest expositions in the political literature, of any time, in the history of Texas.
At the commencement of the revolution of Texas against Mexico, in 1835, he was one of the first on the ground at Gon- zales, and was with the Texas forces until they reached Bexar. He was then notified that he was appointed by the consultation as one of the commissioners to the United States, the others being Stephen F. Austin and B. T. Archer, charged with the important duty of laying the cause of Texas before the people of that country and soliciting aid in the struggle.
In December, 1835, he left Texas for the United States, where he, in most lucid and eloquent public addresses, set forth
121
AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
the cause of Texas in the summer of 1836, and upon the or- ganization of the regular government, in the fall of that year, he was appointed minister to the United States. He remained in Washington until March, 1837, when Texas was recognized, and immediately after that event left for home, leaving Mem- ucan Hunt, who had been appointed in his stead, in charge.
On his way home he was captured at sea by a Mexican ship and carried to Matamoros as a prisoner, but soon made his escape and returned to Texas and was elected a member of the Senate of the Republic, and was re-elected in 1838 to the same position. In March, 1839, while mounting his horse at his plantation in Brazoria County he was accidentally shot by the premature discharge of his pistol. He left surviving him a son named for his brother, John A. Wharton, who became Ma- jor General in the Confederate Army and was killed at the close of the war in 1865.
John A. Wharton, after finishing his education, studied law and was admitted to the practice and removed to New Orleans in 1830 and pursued his profession there until 1833, when he came to Texas and located in Brazoria County. He married a daughter of Governor Johnson of South Carolina.
In 1835 he represented Brazoria in the Consultation, having first done valuable service on the committee of safety in Bra- zoria. He afterward joined the army of Sam Houston, and was his Adjutant at the battle of San Jacinto. After the cap- ture of Santa Anna it was largely through the influence of Wharton's eloquent appeal to the army that Santa Anna's life was spared.
At the close of the Texas revolution he resumed the prac- tice of law in Brazoria with E. M. Pease (later Governor of Texas) as his partner, under the firm name of Wharton & Pease, later becoming the firm Wharton, Pease & Harris.
He served as a member of the lower house of the Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1837, and was returned in 1838, and died March 17, 1839, while a member of that body, and was buried with Masonic honors, ex-President Burnet delivering the funeral oration.
122
THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
WILLIAMSON.
This county was named for Robert M. Williamson, who was born in Georgia in 1806, where he was reared and educated in the common schools. At the age of fifteen he was afflicted with white swelling, which ren- dered him a cripple for life, caus- ing him to wear a wooden leg, and on that account he was later widely known in Texas as "Three Legged Willie." He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1827 in his native state, and in 1828 came to Texas and located at San Felipe. Here he learned the Spanish lan- guage and familiarized himself with the land laws of Mexico and Spain and was regarded as the best informed man in Texas upon the land laws then governing the country. He took an active part in all the oc- currences leading up to the Texas revolution. He was made one of the first District Judges of the Republic in 1837. In 1840 he was elected to represent Washington County in the Congress of the Republic, and by successive re-elections held the position until annexation, after which he was elected a member of the First State Legislature. He served in that body until 1849, when he became a candidate for Congress, and was defeated by Volney E. Howard. He then retired to his farm near Independence, and his health gradually declining he died December 22, 1859.
123
AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
ZAVALA.
This county was named for Lorenzo de Zavala. This name was misspelled by the Legislature, and the mistake has been carried in all the official reports as "Zavalla" instead of 'Zavala.' This distinguished soldier, statesman and publicist was born in Merida, Yucatan, Oc- tober 3, 1788, of Spanish pa- rents. In 1794 he was sent back by his parents to be edu- cated in Spain until he was nineteen years old, when he returned to Mexico. At the age of twenty he was elected Secretary of the City Council of Merida, and held the office for six years. He was in full sympathy with the struggling Republicans of Mexico, and for his openly expressed views and aid to the revolutionists he was imprisoned and confined in the Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa for three years, during a part of which time he was placed in irons. He was released and returned to Merida, where he practiced medicine in 1817, 1818 and 1819. In 1820 he was elected to the Cortes of Spain. In 1822 he returned to Mexico and was elected Deputy to the Constituent Congress, and served in that capacity until the Constitutional convention of Mexico was called in 1824.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.