WmTINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1836
513
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tutors, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1830, and set_ up his law practice at Covington, Tennessee. In a year or so he moved to Texas, settled at Clarksville and continued his law practice. The Comp- troller's Milita1·y Service Record~, Texas State Library, show that he E·nlisted in the Texas Army on March 10, 1836, and was elected a sergeant ten days later. On April 14, he was transferred to the artillery and acted as first sergeant until May 6, when he was raised to the rank of first lieutenant, an office he held until October 4, 1836, on which date he was honorably discharged from the army. He served as Secretary of the Senate in the First Texas Congress, and on December 18, 1836, was appointed Dis- trict Attorney of the First Judicial District. Congress appointed him judge of the Sixth Judicial District on January 30, 1840, but he resigned this position to become the District Attorney for the Fifth Judicial District. He se1·ved in the House of Representatives through the Seventh and Eighth Congresses (November 14, 1842-February 5, 1844), rep1·esenting San Augustine County. In 1850, he was elected a Member of the Third-third United States Congress, succeeding David S. Kaufman. He served from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1853. In 1845, he was married to Evantha Foster, a cousin of :Mrs. William H. Wharton. Judge Scurry was opposed to secession, bu't when the Civil War was pending he was eager to cast his lot with the South; this was made impossible for him, however, because he had accidentally shot off part of one foot. An unskilled surgeon had amputated it, leaving a wound that would never heal. In the hope that amputation of the entire leg would give him relief and permit him to accept a colonel's commission in the Confederate Army, he underwent the c,peration without anesthesia. The shock was too great; he died at his home at Hempstead, Waller County, April 3, 1862. See James D. Lynch, The JJench and Bm· of Texas, 178-182. George L. Crockett, Two Centm·ies in East Texas, 241. Wooten (ed.), Co111p1·ehensive Histo1·y of Texas, II, 31. The Biographica.l DirectoiiJ of the American Congress, 1504. Dixon and Kemp, Heroes of San Jacinto, 84-85. 3 No biographical information beyond casual mention has not been avail- able.
4 The same statement as above is true for H. C. Hudson. 5 See Houston to Thomas Toby and Brother, October 27, 1836.
TO THE SENATE OF TEXAS 1
Executive Department, Columbia, 20th Dec. 1836.
To the Honorable the Senate Gentlemen I have the pleasure to nominate and recommend to you as Chief Justices~ of the several County Courts, the fol- lowing gentlemen: Thomas Barnet for the County of Austin George B. McKinstry for the County of Brazoria
Joseph Baker for the County of Bexar Mathew Parker for the County of Sabine B. D. McClure for the County of Gonzales
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