Đorđe Šagić ( sr-cyr, Ђорђе Шагић; April 30, 1795 – June 11, 1873), also known as George (Jorge) Fisher, was a customs officer and early leader of the Texas Revolution.

Biography

Fisher was originally named Đorđe Šagić, and also known as Đorđe Ribar ( sr-cyr, Ђорђе Рибар), which translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as ''George Fisher''. He was born to Serbian parents in

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fejér ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

in April 1795. Following his father's death Đorđe was sent to the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

seminary in Sremski Karlovci, to train as a priest. He left in 1813 to join the Serbian revolutionary forces during the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 18 ...

.¹ He traveled to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1814 before heading to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 1825, Fisher helped found the first

York Rite The York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named for, but not practiced in York, Yorkshire, England. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic ...

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

in Mexico. He became a naturalized Mexican citizen in 1829 and contracted to settle five hundred families on lands in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

formerly held by Haden Edwards. Fisher later was in charge of a customs house at the far north end of

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

. Fisher demanded that all ships landing at the mouth of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...

pay their customs duties to him at Anahuac. This was a great hardship to area boat captains due to the great distances between that port and other Texas seaports. Fisher was forced to resign his post in early 1832 after a military confrontation with

Texian Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas. Today, the term is used to identify early settlers of Texas, especially those who supported the Texas Revolution. Mexican settlers of that era are referr ...

settlers. Later that year, Fisher began publishing the liberal newspaper ''Mercurio del Puerto de Matamoros'' in Matamoros. On October 13, 1835, Fisher and

José Antonio Mexía José Antonio Mexía Hernández (; – 3 May 1839) was a 19th-century Mexico, Mexican general and politician. He served as secretary of the Legation of Mexico in Washington from about 1829 to 1831. Early life He was born about 1800 to Pedro Me ...

organized a movement in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

to attack

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

and instigate a revolt among the eastern states of Mexico. In 1837, he became a commission agent in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

, and served as

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1839. Fisher was admitted to the bar in 1840 and was elected to the Houston

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. In 1843 he became a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the Texas

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. He traveled to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

in 1850 and on to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1851. In 1853 while he was still Secretary for the California Land Commission, he may have gone to Washington. For there was printed in two and later three volumes "Portraits and Memoirs of Eminent Americans", in which a biographical sketch of Fisher appears as the sole entry from the state of California. It was written by the editor John Livingston, a New York lawyer. Fisher's story aroused interest also in Europe as evidenced by many articles published in several European countries. The well-known Munich magazine of the epoch ''Das Ausland'', of July, 1843, using material out of

John Lloyd Stephens John Lloyd Stephens (November 28, 1805October 13, 1852) was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America and in the planning of the Panama railroad. ...

book which had appeared in London at the beginning of 1843 published several articles in sequence on this "adventurous Serb." Fisher continued to serve in various civic and administrative posts in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

from 1860 to 1870 until retirement. Soon after retiring, he was appointed by the

King of Greece The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach between 1832 and 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924, temporarily abolished during the Second Hellenic Republic, and from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolishe ...

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

for that nation. Fisher was married four times. He died in

on June 11, 1873. George Fisher, oil on canvas, late 1830s, early 1840s

References

Sources

External links

Sons of Dewitt Colony Texas

* Obituary Daily Evening Bulletin (San Francisco), June 18, 1873 http://www.holy-trinity.org/history/1873/06.18.EveningBulletin.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, George 1795 births 1873 deaths People of the Texas Revolution Army of the Republic of Texas officers Serbian explorers Serbian Freemasons American people of Serbian descent American emigrants to Mexico Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Austrian Empire emigrants to the United States

Biography

See also

References

Sources

External links