TIMELINE re: Mary Martha (Harbert & Johnson C. HUNTER family

TIMELINE for Johnson Calhoun & Martha (Harbert) HUNTER Family as related to early Texas History

22 May 1787 Birth of Johnson Hunter (parents & location currently unknown). Family tradition says he was born in Charleston (possibly SC) of Scottish Ancestry. The Narrative of Robert Hancock Hunter (by Green & later Wittliff) indicates that Johnson was born in NC and the first records found so far on him are in Ashe Co., NC.

Abt 1792 Moses Austin moved to Lead Mines, Augusta Co. (now Austinville, Wythe Co.) VA.

29 Aug 1792 Mary Martha Harbert was born in Lead Mines, Augusta Co. (now Austinville, Wythe Co.) VA. Her parents were William Herbert, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth (Polly) Humphries. William Herbert, Sr. & family emigrated from Wales.

03 Nov 1793 Stephen F. Austin , son of Moses, was born in Lead Mines, Augusta Co., VA (now Austinville, Wythe Co.)

1798 Moses Austin & family (wife & two children) moved to southeastern Missouri (now Potosi, MO).

Abt 1805 Family tradition states that Johnson Hunter received a degree in medicine @ 18 yrs. old. No specific college records have been located.

Feb 1809 Johnson Hunter records brand (a "swolly or smally fork" in the right ear) in Ashe Co., NC, February term 1809. (Possibly a cattle or other livestock brand)

10 Nov 1809 Johnson Hunter married Mary Martha Harbert, probably in or near Ashe Co., NC. Court records there indicate that both Johnson and the William Herbert (or Harbert) family were there earlier that year.

Aug 1810 Johnson Hunter listed in Ashe Co., NC records as helping work on the roads there.

Abt 1811 Johnson Hunter family moved to Circleville, Pickaway Plains Co, Ohio. He taught school & was County Recorder.

01 Dec 1811 John (Johnson) Hunter bought land from US Government in Washington Township, OH (Circleville was part of Washington Township)

06 Mar 1811 Jacob Hunter, first son, born to Johnson & Martha Hunter. He died at 6 mos. Possibly their first born was named after Johnson's ancestor?

1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes. Shocks between about 8.0 and 8.8 Richter were so severe they would have been felt by everyone in US (boundaries then). Major damage occurred as far away as Pennsylvania. Thus, the Johnson Hunter family was "in the New Madrid Earthquake", as family tradition states, even if they were in Ohio at the time.

1812 War of 1812 between US & Britain. Britain armed the Indians & enticed them to attack Missouri settlers. Congress made Missouri a US territory.

03 Nov 1812 John (Johnson) Hunter purchased old lot 37 within circular layout of original town of Circleville from Daniel Dresbach, town director.

1813 Johnson Hunter became the second recorder of Pickaway County, OH

04 Jan 1813 Johnson Hunter was shown as a Mason (Fellowcraft or 2nd degree Mason) in Lodge No. 32, Pickaway, Ohio.

28 Jan 1813 Isaac VanDorn (a boy) was indentured (bound) to John Hunter by Isaac's mother to "learn the art of mathematics" (Pickaway Co. OH court records, Vol. A, P. 521). An Isaac VanDorn received a land grant in S.F. Austin's TX colony in Matagorda Co. April 14, 1824.

01 May 1813 Robert Hancock Hunter, a son, was born at Pickaway Plains, Ohio to Johnson & Martha Hunter.

18 Aug 1813 Battle of Medina, fought between the Filibuster forces of the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition under Gen. José Álvarez de Toledo y Dubois and a Spanish royalist army under Gen. Joaquín de Arredondo. This bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas soil took place twenty miles south of San Antonio. More then 1300 filibuster soldiers were killed or executed and their bodies were left on the battlefield until 1822. One of Arredondo's officers was Lt. Antonio López de Santa Anna, who used similar tactics after he became dictator of Mexico and sought to subjugate or exterminate any who resisted his absolute control, including legal colonists of Texas and those who came to help.

07 Jul 1813 Johnson Hunter bought land contiguous w/ former land in Circleville, OH.

13 Feb 1815 Johnson Hunter bought lots 13 & 14 in Circleville from Wm. Stump, Circleville, OH

01 Apr 1815 Mary Hunter, daughter of Johnson & Martha, was born at Pickaway Plains, OH. She died young 1 Oct 1816

1815 Treaty @ Portage des Sioux essentially stopped Indian raids on Missouri settlers.

10 May 1816 Johnson Hunter bought Circleville lot 185 on E.Mound St. from Dresbach, Circleville, OH

05 May 1817 John Calhoun Hunter, a son, was born to Johnson & Martha Hunter. He never married & died @ 27, a soldier for the Republic of Texas in the War with Mexico.

1817 Johnson Hunter family moved to New Madrid, MO, per Narrative of Robert Hancock Hunter. Land & other records in Circleville may indicate they moved later.

05 Jul 1817 Johnson Hunter & wife sold lots 13 & 14 in Circleville, OH to James Renick

09 Mar 1818 Johnson Hunter recorded property in a plat of village of Williamsport (near Circleville?)

03 Jul 1818 Johnson Hunter sold lot 37 to Jas. Renick et al (including Joseph Hayes)

15 Nov 1818 Johnson Huner sold a lot to Joseph Hosselton, et al.

1818 Johnson Hunter was a teacher in a one room school in Circleville, OH

15 Nov 1818 Harriet Harbert Hunter, a daughter was born to Johnson & Martha Hunter.

13 Apr 1819 Johnson Hunter bought lot 122 in New Madrid, MO (Mouth of St. John River near Mississippi River) from James Brady, as attorney for widow of John Ordway, deceased.

18 Nov 1819 Johnson Hunter bought lot 17 in Winchester (New Madrid records) from Wm. & Elby Montgomery. According to information from his son, William A. Hunter, Johnson engaged in mercantile & fur business in New Madrid.

1819 The Adams-Onis Treaty clarified boundaries for Spanish lands in North America.

1817-1820 The Pirate Jean Lafitte occupied Galveston Island (Campeche) in the Spanish province of Texas and used it as a base for smuggling and privateering.

08 Dec 1820 Johnson Hunter was named Justice of New Madrid County by Alexander McNair, Governor of Missouri territory.

1820 There were only three small settlements in the Spanish province of Texas - Nacogdoches, San Fernando de Béxar (San Antonio), and La Bahía del Espíritu Santo (Goliad), small towns with outlying ranches. Moses Austin traveled to San Antonio & asked Spanish officials to let him establish a colony of Americans in Texas

17 Jan 1821 General Juaquin de Arredondo (Spain & later Mexico) approved a grant for Moses Austin to settle 300 families in TX between the Colorado & Brazos Rivers.

20 Feb 1821 Johnson Hunter & Robert Dawson, Justices of County Court for New Madrid appointed Chris Houts, Clerk of court & approved bond of $3000 for Chris Houts, Joseph Hopkins, Andrew Gillespie & Mark Stallup.

24 Feb 1821 Iturbide's Plan of Iguala proclaimed Mexico's independence from Spain. About August to Sept, 1821, Itubide entered Mexico City and was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico.

Mar 1821 Moses Austin received the news that his petition for settling 300 families in Spanish Texas was granted.

07 Mar 1821 Thomas Jefferson Hunter (aka Thomas Johnson Hunter), a son, was born to Johnson & Martha Hunter.

10 Jun 1821 Moses Austin died, leaving completion of settlement of Texas to son, Stephen F. Austin.

21 Jun 1821 Stephen F. Austin met Juan Martín de Veramendi & Don Erasmo Seguín at Natchitoches, LA and accompanied him to Béxar (San Antonio, TX). (from Handbook of TX, c. 1952, Vol II, p. 837)

15 Jul 1821 S.F. Austin entered TX enroute to San Fernando de Béxar. It is known that Johnson Hunter followed Moses Austin’s route and was a part of S.F. Austin's plan to prepare for settlement of 300 families in Texas.

Jul 1821 Johnson Hunter traveled throughout Spanish Territory (TX) w/others (S.F. Austin & Juan Veramendi?), leaving load of medicines with Juan Veramendi in San Fernando de Béxar.

10 Aug 1821 Apparently Johnson Hunter & Raphael Vingcore became separated from the group. Following a report that Johnson Hunter drowned, Johnson was declared dead. Martha Hunter (& Mark Stallop) was named as Administratrix. (Box 17, Pkg 378 Probate Ct. Records, New Madrid).

20 Aug 1821 Missouri became the 24th State in US. On the same day, S.F. Austin found a site on the Brazos River where he founded the town of San Felipe de Austin

07 Sep 1821 Johnson Hunter’s New Madrid area property sold at auction at dwelling of deceased in Town of Winchester, MO.

Dec 1821 Johnson Hunter reportedly left Raphael Vingcore at Sabine R., TX, enroute to rejoin Hunter's family.

07 Feb 1822 Deposition of Raphael Vingcore at New Madrid: States that he believed Johnson was not dead (See above).

08 Feb 1822 New Madrid Court ruled Letters of Administration to Martha Hunter re: death of Johnson Hunter null and void.

1822 Nathaniel Lynch, from Missouri, launched “Lynch’s Ferry” on the San Jacinto River in present Harris County. Lynch’s Ferry was later important in the Runaway Scrape and the Battle of San Jacinto.

07 Apr 1822 Johnson Hunter family landed by boat on San Jacinto Bay (Texas) at what they called Hunter’s Point (now includes cities of Morgan’s Point & LaPorte, Harris Co., TX). There they built a home using large slabs of Cyprus Bark as walls. Johnson traded with the Indians, raised cattle, assisted in surveying, ferried settlers to the mainland from immigrant ships and served as the Doctor for the few settlers in the Galveston/San Jacinto Bay area.

03 Jan 1823 Stephen F. Austin received a land grant from the Mexican Government and began colonization in the region of the Brazos River. Note that Johnson Hunter first came to TX in 1821 to prepare for settlers, and he and his family had settled in TX in Apr 1822 where the Cities of Morgan’s Point and LaPorte, TX are today in present Harris Co.

26 Jul 1823 San Felipe de Austin was declared the headquarters for Austin’s Colony and the Mexican government continued to allow S.F. Austin to introduce up to 300 families into the colony.

Aug 1823 Stephen F. Austin, Empresario, Mexican Republic, Province of Texas, issued a License for a Coasting Vessel to Dr. Johnson Hunter, a settler near the mouth of the San Jacinto River. The document mentions that “Col. Antonio Martinez earlier authorized a permit for said Hunter to sail another small vessel called the Santa Maria of San Jacinto (which has been proven to be lost). The present vessel is called the Adventurer, with a tonnage between five and six tons.” Source: Vol. II, Part I, The Austin Papers, © 1924. S.F. Austin indicates “Hunter is to have full license to sail the vessel to any port he may deem proper for the purpose of procuring supplies of provisions or merchandise for the use of his family or others settled in this Colony, subjecting himself in all cases to the laws of the Mexican Nation as prescribed in the within license of Gov. Martinez, and that the said Hunter or his Agent on board said vessel may not be considered as suspicious persons sailing without legal authority. I give him this document and respectfully request all officers or citizens of any foreign nation with whom the Mexican Republic are on amicable terms who may meet the said vessel not to impede or embarrass its progress, but on the contrary to extend to it their protection and assistance should it be needed.”

29 Sep 1823 Thaddeus Warsaw Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha Hunter, was born at Hunter's Point (now Harris Co., TX). His twin, Messina Hunter was born 30 Sep 1823. Thaddeus is believed to be the first male born in Austin’s Colony.

04 Oct 1824 Mexico adopted Federalist Constitution, similar to the U.S. Constitution. Texas & Coahuila were joined as a single Mexican state. The Constitution of 1824 gave Mexico a republican form of government, but did not define the rights of states, including Texas, within the Republic of Mexico.

10 Aug 1824 Johnson Hunter was granted title to Hunter's Point league & labor (ca. 4428+177 acres) where the present cities of Morgan's Point & LaPorte are now) by Mexican government. This is commonly called a Spanish Land Grant.

21 Dec 1825 Martha Hunter, a daughter, was born to Johnson & Martha at the Hunter Home on Hunter's Point.

28 Jul 1828 Letitia Hunter, a daughter, was born at the Hunter Home on Hunter's Point

1828 to 1829 Johnson Hunter sold part of Hunter's Pt. league to N. Clopper for 25c/acre, who sold to Dr. Patrick, who sold to Col. James Morgan. The original Hunter grant now includes the City of LaPorte & all of Morgan's Point. Hunter Family moved to Ft. Bend County, TX & bought 200 acres on Oyster Creek out of Randall Jones survey for $400.

06 Apr 1830 Relations between the Texas settlers and Mexico reached a new low when Mexico forbade further emigration into Texas from the United States.

13 Jul 1830 William Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, was born in Ft. Bend Co. under a tree on Oyster Creek before construction was complete on the Hunter Home there.

1831-1832 New tax and immigration laws caused clashes at Anahuac, Velasco & Nacogdoches.

07 Jul 1831 Daughter, Letitia Hunter died young, at 3 years of age. She was buried in what would later be called the “Brick Church Graveyard” or The Johnson C. Hunter Cemetery.

26 Jun 1832 The Battle of Velasco resulted in the first casualties in Texas’ relations with Mexico. After several days of fighting, Mexicans under Domingo de Ugartechea were forced to surrender.

01 Oct 1832 At the Convention of 1832 Texas delegates at San Felipe de Austin drafted a petition for relief due to growing dissatisfaction among the settlements with policies of the government in Mexico.

01 Apr 1833 At the Convention of 1833 at San Felipe, Texas delegates petitioned for a separate statehood from Coahuila.

21Nov 1833 Amanda Wilson Hunter, a daughter, was born in Ft. Bend Co. to Martha & Johnson Hunter.

1835 General Antonio López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón (Santa Anna) became a dictator of the Mexican Republic by overthrowing Mexico's constitutional government, crushing opposition in Zacatecas and repealing the Constitution of 1824. Stephen F. Austin was jailed for 28 months in Mexico City and was charged with sedition.

Jun 1835 Texan rebels defeated Mexican troops at Fort Anahuac.

02 Oct 1835 The first shots of the Texas Revolution were at Gonzales, TX. When Texans repulsed a detachment of Mexican cavalry at the Battle of Gonzales, the Texas Revolution started!

09 Oct 1835 The Goliad Campaign of 1835 ended when George Collingsworth, Ben Milam and forty-nine other Texians stormed the Presidio at Goliad and a small detachment of Mexican defenders.

16 Oct 1835 San Felipe delegates resolved against Santa Anna and voted for a provisional Mexican State Government and ordered Sam Houston to raise an army.

28 Oct 1835 Jim Bowie, James Fannin and 90 Texians defeated 450 Mexicans at the Battle of Concepción near San Antonio.

Late 1835 General rebellion – Texans take the Presidio La Bahía at Goliad and lay siege to San Antonio.

03 Nov 1835 Texas delegates at The Consultation voted to defend the 1824 Mexican Constitution and take up arms against the dictator, Santa Anna. A document known as the Organic Law outlined the organization and functions of a new Provisional Government. Volunteers, including two of Johnson Hunter’s sons began arriving for the Texas fight.

08 Nov 1835 The Grass Fight near San Antonio was won by Texans under Jim Bowie and Ed Burleson. Texans expected to capture a load of silver or other treasure. However, they gained only a worthless bounty of grass. Robert Hancock Hunter and possibly John Calhoun Hunter participated in the Grass Fight.

11Dec 1835 Mexicans under Gen. Cos surrendered San Antonio to the Texas Army following the 1835 Siege of Bexar. Ben Milam was killed during the siege. Robert Hancock Hunter and possibly John Calhoun Hunter were in the battles.

23 Feb 1836 The 1836 Siege and Battle of the Alamo begins as 145 Texans took refuge in the grounds of the old Alamo mission.

02 Mar 1836 The Texas Declaration of Independence was signed by members of the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. An ad interim government was formed for the newly created Republic of Texas. David Burnet was named Provisional President & Sam Houston was named as Commander of the Texas Army.

06 Mar 1836 Forces under Col. William B. Travis were overwhelmed by the Mexican Army after a two-week Siege at the Battle of the Alamo. After the Alamo fell, the Runaway Scrape continued. Texas population was about 35,000 then.

10 Mar 1836 Sam Houston abandoned Gonzales in a general retreat eastward to avoid the invading Mexican Army.

19 Mar 1336 The Mexican Army surrounded Col. James Fannin’s troops at the Battle of Coleto.

27 Mar 1836 James Fanin & nearly 400 surrendered Texans were executed by the Mexicans at the Goliad Massacre, under a direct order of Gen. Santa Anna.

21 Apr 1836 Texas independence began when Texans under Sam Houston routed the Mexican forces of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Robert Hancock Hunter guarded baggage during the battle and Santa Anna, after his capture. Thomas Jefferson Hunter served as a scout. The Hunter family that was not part of the militia (Martha & younger children) stayed in the Claiborne West home in present Orange Co., TX, during the Runaway Scrape and Battle of San Jacinto. Just prior to the battle, ca. 600 head of Hunter cattle became scattered at Lynch’s Ferry and were used for food by TX & Mexican armies. Perhaps the grande barbecoa (big barbeque) contributed to the outcome, as the Mexican troops were reportedly unprepared and in siesta when the battle began.

1836 A community called Houston was founded by Augustus and John K. Allen, who paid just over $1.40 per acre for 6,642 acres of land near the headwaters of Buffalo Bayou. They named the site Houston after their friend and hero, General Sam Houston

July 1836 Frostown (Frost Town) an early settlement in what is now Houston was named for the Frost family, who arrived about July 1836. An 1838 map showed Frostown and noted where families lived, including the Allen brothers. Frostown is believed to be the first platted neighborhood within present Houston, Texas.

21 Sep 1836 Walter Crockett Hunter, a son, was born to Johnson & Martha Hunter in Fort Bend Co.

1837 General Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas, signs an act authorizing Houston to incorporate. Houston was capital of the Republic from 1837 until 1839, when the capital was moved to Austin. Population: 1,000. The city charter provided for a town of nine square miles.

Oct 1836-40 Johnson Hunter and Claiborne West were named Post Masters. Johnson was responsible for the Republic of Texas Post Office at Rocky Well, and for postal service along the road from San Felipe to Liberty, TX.

15 Jan 1837 Harriet Harbert Hunter, daughter of Johnson & Martha married Col. Elbert G. Head. Before he died 26 Sep 1840, they had two children, Ben Johnson Head, b.1837 and Josephine Head, b. 1839.

Jun 1839 Waterloo (Austin) was chosen for Republic of Texas Capital. In Nov 1839, the Texas Congress first met in Austin.

19 Mar 1840 Problems with Comanche Indians in the Republic of Texas resulted in the Council House Fight.

26 Sep 1840 Col. Elbert G. Head, husband of Harriet Harbert Hunter, died at Brazoria Co., TX.

08 Aug 1840 Comanche Warriors attacked settlers along the Guadalupe River valley and destroyed Linnville, near Victoria.

11 Aug 1840 The Battle of Plum Creek, near present day Lockhart, ended the boldest and most penetrating Comanche challenge to the Texas Republic.

19 Jun 1841 The Texan Santa Fe Expedition of ca. 320 men set out for New Mexico. Near Santa Fe, they were intercepted by Mexican forces and marched 2000 miles to prison in Mexico City.

05 Mar 1842 A Mexican force of over 500 men under Rafael Vasquez invaded Texas for the first time since the revolution. They briefly occupied San Antonio, but soon headed back to the Rio Grande.

13 Mar 1842 Mexican Gen. Adrián Woll captured San Antonio. Texan volunteers engaged at Salado Creek Battles.

03 Oct 1842 Sam Houston authorizes Alexander Somervell to lead a retaliatory raid into Mexico. The resulting Somervell Expedition dissolved, after briefly taking the border towns of Laredo and Guerreo.

20 Dec 1842 About 300 members of the Somervell forces set out to continue raids into Mexico. Ten days and 20 miles later, the ill-fated Mier Expedition surrendered at the Mexican town of Mier.

29 Dec 1842 Under orders of Sam Houston, official arrived in Austin to remove the records of the Republic of Texas to the City of Houston, touching off the bloodless Archives War.

2 Mar 1843 Harriet Harbert Hunter (Mrs. Harriet Head) married Samuel Miles Frost, one of the founders of Frostown. They had 8 children, large cattle ranches and founded the Frost Institute. Harriet’s cattle brand was “Figure Four”.

25 Mar 1843 Seventeen Texan prisoners were executed in what became known as the Black Bean Episode, which resulted form the Mier Expedition, one of several raids by Texans into Mexico.

27 May 1843 The Texan’s Snively Expedition reached the Santa Fe Trail, expecting to capture Mexican wagons crossing territory claimed by Texas. The campaign stalled, when American troops intervened.

03 Sep 1844 John Calhoun Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, died in a skirmish with Mexican forces. Details are unknown. He was buried in the Dr. Johnson C. Hunter Cemetery, Ft. Bend Co., 400 yards from the site of the Hunter Plantation.

16 Sep 1844 Mier Expedition prisoners released from Perote Prison in Mexico

29 Nov 1844 Robert Hancock Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, married Samirah Beard.

18 Dec 1844 Martha Hunter, daughter of Johnson & Martha, married Edward Walker

29 Dec 1845 Texas became the 28th US State by treaty. Texas is the only state to join the Union by treaty.

1850 Census Fort Bend Co., TX - Johnson Hunter, 64, farmer, SC; Martha, his wife, 59, VA; Thaddeus, 27; Messina; 27; William, 20; Amanda, 17; Walter, 14. In the same census, in the Samuel Frost household were: Frost, S.M, 46, Planter, SC; Harriet H. (Hunter), 31, OH; Addie B., 6, TX; Henry H., 4, TX; Hunter, Thomas, 29, Overseer, TX.

09 Sep 1850 In a plan to settle boundary disputes and to pay her public debt, Texas relinquished about 1/3 of her territory in the Compromise of 1850, in exchange for $10 million from the United States. The land relinquished included parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Wyoming.

08 Feb 1852 Messina Hunter, daughter of Johnson & Martha, married Alex McCloy of Fort Bend Co.

26 Feb 1853 Messina Hunter McCloy died 4 days after the birth of a son, James Franklin McCloy. She was buried in the Dr. Johnson C. Hunter Cemetery, aka Brick Church Graveyard.

06 Oct 1854 Amanda Wilson Calhoun Hunter, daughter of Johnson & Martha, married Dr. Josiah Kuykendall.

09 Oct 1854 Thaddeus Warsaw Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, married Joannah McCrab

12 Oct 1854 Thomas Jefferson Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, married Josephine Bonaparte Estes.

1854 Robert Hancock Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, moved to Guadalupe Co. & put up a water mill on San Geronimo Creek, 2 mi. east of Sequin.

29 May 1855 Dr. Johnson Calhoun Hunter died in Fort Bend Co., TX. He was buried in the Brick Church Graveyard.

29 Apr 1856 Camel importation - 32 Camels, plus a calf born at sea were imported into Texas as beasts of burden. Forty one more were imported within a year. By 1859 the experiment was abandoned as the nature of the beasts led to their demise. They smelled bad, frightened horses, and were detested by handlers accustomed to more docile mules.

26 May 1858 Walter Crockett Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, Hunter married Susan Cook.

29 May 1859 Harriet Harbert Hunter Frost, daughter of Johnson & Martha & mother of ten children, died in childbirth. She and her infant were buried in the Dr. Johnson C. Hunter Cemetery, aka Brick Church Graveyard.

06 Dec 1860 William A. Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, married Mary Barrett Allen.

25 Dec 1860 Mary Martha Harbert Hunter, wife of Johnson Hunter, died in Fort Bend Co., TX and was buried in the Brick Church Graveyard. During her life, Texas population had grown to more than 604,000. Houston’s population had increased to 5000. Martha & Johnson Hunter had thirteen children, ten of whom reached maturity. Their children gave birth to 57 or more grandchildren, at least 50 of whom reached maturity and became Texans for life. This family coped with many adversities of life on the frontier and, as did many of the other “Old Three Hundred” settlers, and contributed significantly to the development of the Mexican Province of Texas, the Republic of Texas, the present Houston metropolitan area, Harris County and surrounding counties and finally to the present state of Texas.

01 Feb 1861 Texas seceded from the Union & joined the Confederate States of America following a 171 to 6 vote by the Secession Convention. Governor Sam Houston was one of the small minorities opposed to secession.

Mar 1861 Terry’s Texas Rangers formed by delegates returning from the secession convention.

22 Oct 1861 Advance units of the newly formed Brigade of General H.H. Sibley (Sibley Campaign) marched westward from San Antonio to claim New Mexico and the American Southwest for the Confederacy.

1862 William A. Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, enlisted in the Confederate 15th Texas Division.

01 Jan 1863 After several weeks of Federal occupation of Texas’ most important seaport, the Battle of Galveston restored the island to Texas control for the remainder of the Civil War.

08 Sep 1863 The Battle of Sabine Pass turned back one of several Union attempts to invade and occupy part of Texas.

13 May 1865 The last land engagement of the Civil War was fought at the Battle of Palmito Ranch, in far south Texas, more than a month after Gen Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, VA.

19 Jun 1865 Juneteenth, emancipation day for African-Americans in Texas. On that day in 1865 Major General Gordon Granger proclaimed that all slaves in Texas were free.

08 Aug 1866 Thaddeus Warsaw Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, was named Postmaster in Weimar, Colorado Co., TX

1865 to 1869 The US ruled Texas under a military government. In 1869, Texas adopted the "Carpetbag" Constitution of 1869. The period of Reconstruction in Texas continued for ca. nine years from 1865 until about 1874.

27 Oct 1869 Thaddeus Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, married Temperance Connor, a distant cousin of Davy Crockett.

05 Dec 1869 Amanda Wilson Hunter Kuykendall, daughter of Johnson & Martha Hunter, died in Chetopa, Labette Co., KS

30 Mar 1870 The US Congress readmitted Texas to the Union. Houston’s population at about 9,300.

02 Dec 1873 Coke-Davis Controversy-incumbent Texas Governor Edmund Davis was defeated in a controversial election. He refused to leave office and requested Federal Troops to allow him to finish his term. In the case of Ex parte Rodriguez (39 Tex. 705 [1874]), sometimes called the Semicolon Case, the Texas Supreme Court ruled invalid the state general election of December 2, 1873.

15 Dec 1875 Thaddeus Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha, married Nancy Ann Glaze

04 Oct 1876 The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas opened, Texas’ first venture into public higher education.

15 Sep 1883 The University of Texas opened in Austin, TX. First courses were in the Academic and Law Departments.

27 May 1884 Walter Crockett Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha and father of 9 children, was murdered near his ranch 20 mi. north of Colorado City, TX

1885 John Miles Frost, son of Harriet Hunter & Samuel Miles Frost, imported Brahman Cattle from India.

16 May 1888 The dedication of the present state capitol in Austin ended seven years of planning and construction. The Building was funded with 3,000,000 acres of land in north Texas.

1900 The City of Houston’s population reaches 44,600.

30 Mar 1900 Thomas Jefferson Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha & father of 8 children, died and was buried in the Johnson Hunter Cemetery.

10 Jan 1901 The discovery of “black gold” at the Spindletop Oil Field near Beaumont launched Texas into a century of oil exploration, machinery, electronics and even manned space travel.

35 Sep 1901 Thaddeus Warsaw Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha & father of 13 children, died and was buried in Weimar, TX.

11 Aug 1902 Robert Hancock Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha & father of 7 children, died and was buried in Flatonia, TX.

1902 Robert Lee Hunter, grandson of Johnson & Martha Hunter, was the last member of the Johnson Hunter family to live at the Hunter Plantation on Oyster Creek. At Age 33 he moved to Pearland, TX and the Johnson C. Hunter and Robert H. Hunter property in Fort Bend Co. was sold to others. What had started as a private family cemetery gradually became a neglected cemetery.

1904 Margaret Hunter Kinkaid, Granddaughter of Johnson & Martha Hunter founded Kinkaid School in Houston, TX

25 Mar 1907 William A. Hunter, son of Johnson & Martha & father of 5 children, died & was buried in Houston, TX, in the Hollywood Cemetery.

1912 - The Texas Constitution was amended. A home rule amendment allows a city to do anything not prohibited from doing. This gave cities in Texas the right to annex. It also took away a fundamental American right of government only by consent of the governed.

1939 The History of Fort Bend County, by Wharton, © 1939, pps. 47-48 discusses the Johnson Hunter family. Page 134 states “Out on the margin of the prairie half a mile form the head of Oyster Creek and half a mile from the site of the Johnson Hunter homestead, one may see today the broken gravestones of the family burial ground”.

Apr 2004 Neglect for 100+ years after the Johnson C. Hunter family died and descendants moved away left this historically important cemetery in poor condition. Johnson Hunter family gravestones had fallen and several were broken or had settled below grade. Rampant brush growth hid most evidence of graves of these historic early settlers and contributors to the development of Texas and of Fort Bend County. Weeds and brush were removed from around graves and broken stones were repaired, reset and stabilized to try to restore the cemetery to a condition similar to it’s appearance ca. 1900. Some marked graves were found throughout the cemetery, but no specific location has been identified for many recorded burials of others in this cemetery. An application for Texas Historic Cemetery status was submitted to the Texas Historic Commission.

Oct 2004 The Dr. Johnson C. Hunter Cemetery, aka Brick Church Graveyard, was officially granted Texas Historic Cemetery status. Development of this website was started to help identify and share information about this cemetery.