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DeWitt County, Texas
DeWitt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,824. The county seat is Cuero. The county was founded in 1846 and is named for Green DeWitt, who founded an early colony in Texas. History Native Americans Archeological digs UT Texas at Austin UT Texas at Austin indicate early habitation from the Paleo-Indians hunter-gatherers period. Later, Tonkawa, Aranamas, Tamiques, Karankawa, Tawakoni, Lipan Apache, and Comanche lived and hunted in the county. Explorers The first European visitors to the county are thought to have been Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, and his slave Estevanico of the ill-fated 1528 Narváez expedition. French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle Texas State Historical Association is believed to have crossed the county on his way westward from Victoria County; and while La Bahia Texas State Historical Association w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green DeWitt
Green DeWitt (February 12, 1787 – May 18, 1835) was an empresario in Mexican Texas. He brought families from the United States to what is now South-central Texas and founded the DeWitt Colony. Missouri Green Dewitt was elected as the first Ralls County, Missouri Sheriff in 1821 and served for three years before heading to Texas for adventures that would make him an icon of American history. During his tenure as sheriff, the first courthouse and jail were housed in a log structure built in 1822. The jail was two rooms on the first floor, one a dungeon with no windows, the other a cell with a barred window. Both were entered by trap doors from the courtroom above. An area surrounding the jail a half-mile square was marked off as "prison bounds", so inmates could work outdoors. He served as sheriff until 1824. In March 1825, he headed to Texas to make his fortune. Texas empresario In 1822, DeWitt petitioned the Mexican government for permission to settle colonists in Texas, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narváez Expedition
The Narváez expedition was a Spanish journey of exploration and colonization started in 1527 that intended to establish colonial settlements and garrisons in Florida. The expedition was initially led by Pánfilo de Narváez, who died in 1528. Many more people died as the expedition traveled west along the explored Gulf Coast of the present-day United States and into the American Southwest. Only four of the expedition's original members survived, reaching Mexico City in 1536. These survivors were the first known non-Native Americans to see the Mississippi River, and to cross the Gulf of Mexico and Texas. Narváez's crew initially numbered about 600, including men from Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy. The expedition met with disaster almost immediately. Making stops at Hispaniola and Cuba on the way to La Florida, the fleet was devastated by a hurricane, among other storms, and lost two ships. They left Cuba in February 1528. Their intended destination was the Rio de las Palma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chisholm Trail
The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cherokee merchant. They collected and drove numerous cattle along the trail to Kansas, where they could be shipped east to achieve higher prices. The southern terminus was Red River Station, a trading post near the Red River along the northern border of Texas. The northern terminus was a trading post near Kansas City, Kansas. Chisholm owned both of these posts. In the years of the cattle drives, cowboys would drive large herds from ranches across Texas to the Red River Station and then north to Kansas City. Overview Texas ranchers using the Chisholm Trail had their cowboys start cattle drives from either the Rio Grande area or San Antonio. They joined the Chisholm Trail at the Red River, at the border between Texas and Oklahoma Territor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wesley Hardin
John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he did so in self-defense. Pursued by lawmen for most of his life, in 1877 at the age of 23, he was sentenced to 24 years in prison for murder. At the time of sentencing, Hardin claimed to have killed 42 men, while contemporary newspaper accounts attributed 27 deaths to him. While in prison, Hardin studied law and wrote an autobiography. He was well known for exaggerating or fabricating stories about his life and claimed credit for many killings that cannot be corroborated. Within a year of his 1894 release from prison, Hardin was killed by John Selman in an El Paso saloon. Early life Hardin was born in 1853 near Bonham, Texas, to James "Gip" Hardin, a Methodist preacher and circuit rider, and Mary Elizabeth Dixson. He was named after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers and also known as ''Los Diablos Tejanos'' (), is an investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the US state of Texas. It is based in the capital city of Austin. In the time since its creation, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption, acted in riot control and as detectives, protected the governor of Texas, tracked down fugitives, served as a security force at important state locations, including the Alamo, and functioned as a paramilitary force at the service of both the Republic (1836–1845) and the State of Texas. The Texas Rangers were unofficially created by Stephen F. Austin in a call-to-arms written in 1823 and were first headed by Captain Morris. After a decade, on August 10, 1835, Daniel Parker introduced a resolution to the Permanent Council creating a body of rangers to protect the Mexican border. The unit was dissolved by the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas State Police
The Texas State Police (TSP) was created following the Civil War by order of Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis. The TSP worked primarily against racially based crimes in Texas, and included black police officers. It was replaced by a renewed Texas Rangers force in 1873. History The Texas State Police was formed during the administration of Governor Davis on July 22, 1870, to combat crime during the Reconstruction Era of the United States. Davis also created the State Guard of Texas, and the Texas Reserve Militia, which were forerunners of the Texas National Guard. Among Texas State Police members were Captain Jack Helm of DeWitt County, Texas—later murdered by John Wesley Hardin and Jim Taylor during the Sutton–Taylor feud. Another notable member was Leander H. McNelly of the Texas Ranger's "Special Force" division.Crouch, Barry A. and Brice, Donaly E.; The Governor's Hounds: The Texas State Police, 1870–1873; University of Texas Press; reprint edition (December 1, 2012), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutton–Taylor Feud
The Sutton–Taylor feud began as a county law enforcement issue between relatives of a Texas state law agent, Creed Taylor, and a local law enforcement officer, William Sutton, in DeWitt County, Texas. The feud cost at least 35 lives and eventually included the outlaw John Wesley Hardin as one of its participants. It began in March 1868, not reaching its conclusion until the Texas Rangers put a stop to the fighting in December 1876. Background The Sutton–Taylor feud arose from a growing animosity between the Texas Taylor family—headed by Pitkin Taylor, the brother of Creed Taylor (a Texas Ranger)—and local lawman William E. Sutton, who moved to DeWitt along with his mother when she married a man named William McDonald. Sutton had been elected deputy sheriff in Clinton, Texas, before the feud began. The feud lasted almost a decade, and has been called "...the "longest and bloodiest in Texas history..." Events Lead-up On April 23, 1866, William P. "Buck" Taylor shot a bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bureau Of Refugees, Freedmen And Abandoned Lands
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a U.S. government agency, from 1865 to 1872, after the American Civil War, to direct "provisions, clothing, and fuel...for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen and their wives and children". Background and operations In 1863, the American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission was established. Two years later, as a result of the inquiry the Freedmen's Bureau Bill was passed, which established the Freedmen's Bureau as initiated by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. It was intended to last for one year after the end of the Civil War. The Bureau became a part of the United States Department of War, as Congress provided no funding for it. The War Department was the only agency with funds the Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas In The American Civil War
Texas declared its secession from the Union on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States on March 2, 1861, after it had replaced its governor, Sam Houston, who had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. As with those of other states, the Declaration of Secession was not recognized by the US government at Washington, DC. Some Texan military units fought in the Civil War east of the Mississippi River, but Texas was more useful for supplying soldiers and horses for the Confederate Army. Texas' supply role lasted until mid-1863, when Union gunboats started to control the Mississippi River, which prevented large transfers of men, horses, or cattle. Some cotton was sold in Mexico, but most of the crop became useless because of the Union's naval blockade of Galveston, Houston, and other ports. Secession In the early winter of 1860, Texan counties sent delegates to a special convention to debate the merits of secession. The convention adopted an "Ordinan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska to the west. In the south are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center into the Mississippi River, which makes up the eastern border. With more than six million residents, it is the 19th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City. Humans have inhabited what is now Missouri for at least 12,000 years. The Mississippian culture, which emerged at least in the ninth century, built cities and mounds before declining in the 14th century. When European explorers arrived in the 17th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to the east; Tennessee to the south; and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort, and its two largest cities are Louisville and Lexington. Its population was approximately 4.5 million in 2020. Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the 15th state on June 1, 1792, splitting from Virginia in the process. It is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on Kentucky bluegrass, a species of green grass found in many of its pastures, which has supported the thoroughbred horse industry in the center of the state. Historically, it was known for excellent farming conditions for this reason and the development of large tobacco plantations akin to those in Virginia and North Carolin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the southwest, and Missouri to the northwest. Tennessee is geographically, culturally, and legally divided into three Grand Divisions of East, Middle, and West Tennessee. Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, and anchors its largest metropolitan area. Other major cities include Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Clarksville. Tennessee's population as of the 2020 United States census is approximately 6.9 million. Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachian Mountains. Its name derives from " Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
