Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas Page: 637 of 894
762 p., [172] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 30 cm.View a full description of this book.
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540
INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
assisted in building the first school house in that
section of the country. He married, January 9,
1856, Miss Augusta Vogel, a daughter of Louis
Vogel, an early Texas pioneer. Mr. and Mrs.
Smithson have four children, all born in Smithson'sValley, viz.: Louise (wife of Mr. Henry Wezen,
of Smithson Valley), Sarah (wife of Theo. Bose, of
the same locality), Richard B. (who married Miss
Augusta Wonderlich), and Emma (Mrs. Adolf
Hoffeing, residing near Burnet, in Kendall County).ARMISTEAD E. WATSON,
MARLIN.Armistead E. Watson was born January 28,
1834, in Prince Edward County, Va., the seventh
of ten children, whose parents were Joseph A. and
Jane (Bruce) Watson. Joseph A. Watson, also
born in Prince Edward County, was a son of Col.
Jesse Watson, who served with the rank of Captain
in the War of the Revolution and was subsequently
appointed Colonel of State troops. He was a son
of John Watson, who was a native of Virginia and
of Scotch ancestry, and was among the early
settlers in the colonies.
The worthy mother of Mr. Watson was the
daughter of Alex. Bruce, and was born in Lunenburg
County, Va., as was her father, Alexander.
His ancestors were from Scotland.
Armistead E. Watson was reared on a plantation
and secured his education in the principal schools
of that day, which were of superior order. In 1856
he decided to leave the Old Commonwealth. His
course lay through Montgomery and Mobile, Ala.,
by rail, and thence by steamer to Galveston, Texas,
via New Orleans. From Galveston he went to
Washington County, where he purchased a tract of
land, on which he settled. His slaves came by land
and were about three months on the road. There,
amidst new scenes, he commenced the building up
of a new home for himself and to do his part in
developing the grand resources of his adopted
State; but he was not long to remain in those pursuits.
The ominous war-cloud, long hovering over
the land, soon broke in savage fury. Responding
to a sense of duty, he promptly enlisted in Company
G., Fourth Texas Infantry, commanded by Colonel,
afterward General, Hood, took part in many of the
great battles.of the war, and bore himself as became
a gallant soldier fighting in defense of his home and
country. Among the battles in which he participated
may be mentioned Gaines' Mill, the Seven
Days' battle around Richmond, and Malvern Hill.At the end of two years, spent in almost continuous
fighting, he was released from service on
account of failing health, and returned home to
Texas and again resumed his agricultural pursuits,
which he followed until January, 1868, when he
moved to Galveston and engaged in business as a
cotton buyer. In 1870 he made another change,
going to Falls County, where he engaged in planting.
Subsequently he became engaged in raising
and dealing in stock, acquiring, from time to time,
land interests. In the spring of 1892, he assisted
in the organization and became president of the
First National Bank of Marlin.
Mr. Watson possesses admirable business qualities
and has been eminently successful in all his
operations, at the same time doing much towards
the development and growth of the country.
He was married May 25, 1869, to Amanda,
daughter of the late Churchill Jones. To this
union three children were born: Irene, Clara, and
Armistead. Armistead, a bright and promising
youth of eighteen years and the idol of his father,
was untimely taken from this world by a stroke of
lightning whilst pursuing his studies at Roanoke
College, Va., June 27, 1892. This was a sad blow
to his devoted father, inflicting a wound from which
he will never recover.
His wife died June 8th, 1874, at the age of thirty
years. She was a member of the Baptist Church.
He was subsequently married, February 18th, 1878,
to Xeminia C. Powers, daughter of Joseph and
Susan (Turner) Powers, who were among the old
and prominent families of Alabama. To them has
been born one child, Ximinia. Mrs. Watson is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1884 Mr, Watson was elected by the Democratic
party to the Nineteenth Legislature, and
filled that responsible position with credit to himself
and satisfaction to his constituency.
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Brown, John Henry. Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, book, 1880~; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth6725/m1/637/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.