How did erastus smith became deaf
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Deaf Smith
Texan soldier
For the county named after him, see Deaf Smith County, Texas.
Erastus "Deaf" Smith (April 19, 1787 – November 30, 1837), who earned his nickname due to hearing loss in childhood, was an American frontiersman noted for his part in the Texas Revolution and the Army of the Republic of Texas. He fought in the Grass Fight and the Battle of San Jacinto. After the war, Deaf Smith led a company of Texas Rangers.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Smith died in Richmond, Texas, aged 50, at the home of Randall Jones. The Episcopal churchyard has a modest marker, "Deaf Smith, the Texas Spy, Died Nov. 30, 1837", but his exact burial site is unknown.[7]
Posthumous legacy
Deaf Smith County, Texas, is named in his honor.[8] Unlike his nickname, which was pronounced "Deef", the county name is pronounced by most residents as DEF. Likewise, a brand of peanut butter known as Deaf Smith was manufactured by the Arrowhead Mills company, which was founded in 1960 by Frank Ford, then from Her
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Arrival in Texas
Erastus “Deaf” Smith’s land grant placed him in the path of Texas history. The Siege of Bejar, the Fall of the Alamo and the Runaway Scrape are all associated with his land at the Cibolo Crossing with the Old Gonzales Road.
Erastus “Deaf” Smith was born April 19, 1787 in Dutchess County, New York. When he was eleven, his family moved to Mississippi. As a young man, Smith travelled to Texas, where he remained only a brief time before returning to Mississippi. He moved to San Antonio de Bexar in 1821. A year later, he married Guadalupe Ruiz Duran, the widow of Vincente Duran. Vincente owned the land grant adjoining that of Smith. Guadalupe and Vincente Duran had several daughters. Their daughter, Martina Duran, married Hendrick Arnold, a free black man who was a member of Erastus’s spy company during the Texas Revolution.
His Land Grant
In December of 1833, Smith received a land grant from the Mexican government. The grant was for a league of land on the northeast side of the Cibolo Creek in present day Guadalupe County. The grant extended above
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Veteran Bio
Green DeWitt on April 15, 1825, had been officially granted a contract with the State of Coahuila and Texas to introduce four hundred families within designated boundaries, now embracing Dewitt, Guadalupe, Caldwell and portions of Lavaca and Karnes counties. He commissioned James Kerr of Missouri to select and lay out a site for a capital of the colony, and in August 1825 we find Kerr, Erastus Smith, Basil Durbin, Geron Hinds, John Wightman, James Musick, Mr. Strickland and some negro servant of Mr. Kerr engaged in this work. This site, abandoned the following year, is located near where the present city of Gonzales stands.
The outbreak of the Texas Revolution, the loyalty of Smith to Texas was a matter of uncertainty, due to his past associations with Mexicans. When Austin's army was organized at Gonzales, however, Smith was one of the first to enlist and it was not long before he had gained the confidence of all loyal Texans. He was detailed on scout duty, for which he was peculiarly fitted, being thoroughly acquainted with the manners and customs of the Mexicans
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