Fort Bend was one of the early counties of the Texas Republic, and its settlement and development began in 1821, when a company of fifteen to twenty persons, headed by William Little and members of the Austin Colony, were directed to enter the Brazos River and commence a settlement at some eligible place on its banks. They stopped where Richmond now is. The double log house which they built was named the Fort, a small cannon having been mounted on wheels and stationed in the passage connecting the two rooms. This “Fort” and the circumstance of its location on a wide bend of the river, was the origin of the name “Fort Settlement,” or “Fort Bend Settlement,” by which the locality was known up to the Revolution. It was here that Santa Anna transported his army over the Brazos on his way to San Jacinto. Another point to which settlers came before the Revolution was Stafford’s Point, where some prominent families located.
Fort Bend was among the first counties created by the Texas Congress from the original counties or municipalities of the Republic. The act creating the county and providing for its organization was passed December 29, 1837. Richmond had already been incorporated and became the county seat.
This collection contains 42 biographies and various historical references from the manuscript History of Fort Bend County by W. M. Morrison. Included with the history are articles on the Meir Expedition, Billy Bowlegs, Terry Rangers, and a list of early land titles.
History from the History of Fort Bend County Texas
- Billy Bowlegs and His Raid on Dr. Braden’s Farm
- Land Titles Issued In Fort Bend County From 1824 To 1832
- Escaped at the time of the Surrender at Mier
- List of the Guard who Escaped from the River
- Men Of Company F, 24th Texas
- Mier Prisoners, Fate Unknown
- Terry Rangers, Company A
- Terry Rangers, Company B
- Terry Rangers, Company C
- Terry Rangers, Company D
- Terry Rangers, Company E
- Terry Rangers, Company F
- Terry Rangers, Company G
- Terry Rangers, Company H
- Terry Rangers, Company I
- Terry Rangers, Company K
- Terry Rangers, Original Field Staff
Biographies from the History of Fort Bend County Texas
- Andrus, E. P.
- Austin, Stephen F.
- Baker, Mosley Captain
- Bassett, Clem N.
- Blakely, Mary L. Mrs.
- Calder, R. J. Capt.
- Cariesman, Horatio
- Cason, Henry
- Darst, Abraham
- Davis, John H. Pickens Judge
- Davis, William Kinchen
- Dyer, J. E.
- Fenn, F. M. O.
- Fields, W. I.
- Florer, J. C.
- Foster, Randolph
- Foster, Randolph
- Gibson, J. T.
- Hibbered, Loron
- Hodge, Robert
- Jones, Henry
- Jones, Julia Mrs.
- Jones, Randall Capt.
- Jones, Wiley P.
- Little, Walter W.
- Long, Jane H. Mrs.
- Martin, Wiley Captain
- Masterson, Willim
- McElroy, Charles S.
- McKnabb, John
- Neel, Adam S.
- Newell, John D.
- Newell, M. M.
- Pearson, E. A. Major
- Pleasants, George W.
- Ransom, Henry L.
- Ryon, W. M. Colonel
- Smith, Deaf
- Stafford, William
- Wessendorff, T. B.
- Wilkinson, W. M. Gen.
- Worthington, R. H.