This is a continuation of my examination of the men who signed Nelson Kavanaugh's petition to be allowed to remain in the Republic of Texas.
B. P. Buckner's smudged signature is on the lower left:
Benjamin P. Buckner arrived in the Republic of Texas around 1835. He was chief justice of Harris County, Texas from 1839 to 1847. One of his duties was to conduct the 1845 census of Houston. This was a census that was made in order for Texas to be able to join the United States. At that time Houston had 4, 757 people, of which 607 were qualified voters. 622 were slaves. I've seen no separate count of free blacks. Buckner died in 1875 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. His tombstone states that he was born in Oldham County, Kentucky in 1801.
M. T. Rodger's signature is below Hunt's:
Mangus T. Rodger's was an attorney. He was the sheriff of Houston from 1844 to 1846. He evidently died young. His wife Ann G. Rodgers was the administratrix of his estate in 1848. Their large house and acreage were advertised for sale in 1851 and 1852.
Robt Wilson's signature was immediately below Hadley's:
Robert Wilson was born 1793 in Talbot County, Maryland. By 1823 he was in Natchez where he was a contractor and in the mercantile business. In 1827 he partnered with William Plunkett Harris and ran steamboats along the Mississippi River and Red River. The following year he joined John Richardson Harris in developing Harrisburg, Texas. He married as his second wife the widow Sarah Reed. He fought in the siege of Bexar. Then in 1836, he was elected to the Texas senate. In 1838 and again in 1844, he ran for president but was defeated both times. He died in 1856 and is also buried in Glenwood Cemetery.
R. Theo Smyth's signature is above Thurston's:
Reginald Theodore Smyth was born about 1820 in Virginia. He was a law partner with Joseph C. Megginson. Their firm was located on Main Street in Houston in 1841. By 1847, they had relocated to Galveston, Texas with R.T. Smyth living in Montgomery. He ran for a judgeship in 1862. In 1866, he was a law professor at Baylor University. By 1880 he was living in Grimes County, Texas. He died in 1900 and is buried in Montgomery County, Texas in the Evergreen Cemetery aks Dobbins Cemetery aka Jacob Shannon Green Cemetery. He shares his tombstone with his wife Clarissa Shannon. It states that he was a circuit judge in Harris County, Montgomery County, and Grimes county.
Nelson Kavanaugh's Associates in the Republic of Texas, Part 1
Nelson Kavanaugh's Associates in the Republic of Texas, Part 2
While looking at Frances Kavanaugh, screenwriter, I noticed that you made updates on Nelson Kavenaugh (1811–1882) • Person • Family Tree. Were you ever able to connect his family to Charles Kavanaugh 1726 (my 5th ggf)?
ReplyDeleteI have never connected Nelson Kavanaugh (1811 - 1882) to my family of Kavanaugh/Cavanaughs, although he might fit somewhere. He was a white man who coincidentally lived in Hinds Co., Mississippi and relocated to the Houston, Texas area in roughly the same time that "my" Nelson Kavanaugh (1808 - ?), a freedman and son of Capt. William Kavanaugh of Madison Co., KY, also relocated from Hinds Co., Mississippi, to the Houston area. The white Nelson stayed in Texas and settled in the Washington Co., Texas area. His daughter attended Baylor University. I do not think that my Nelson would have tried to pass for a white man and stay in Texas - he was too well known, and it would have been too dangerous. My Nelson was unmarried when he petitioned to stay in Texas. The white Nelson had a wife that he brought to Texas from Mississippi, and was still married to her when he relocated to Washington Co., Texas.
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