400
WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1860
College, Tennessee; came to Texas in the fall of 1836, and opened a !arm on Red River. In 1837 he helped to extend the jurisdiction of the Republic of Texas over all the Red River territory, which, at that time, was under the dominion of the state of Arkansas. While living in the Red River Dis- trict, Johns entered the military service of Texas for the protection o! the Northwest frontier, and in this service 1·ose to the 1·ank of major. In 1840, he was elected and served as a member of the 5th Congress; and during this service was the author of a bill to quiet land titles of the Republic. The bill was enacted into law. In 1846 he moved from Red River and s~ttled on a farm which .he bought on the Blanco River in Hays Cou?,ty. While living on this farm, he married Amanda Durham, of San Marcos, in 1852. Six children were born to them. In 1858 he was elected comptroller, and was reelected to this office three times. He was a good accountant, and a good financier. In 1861 he was sent, by special act of the Legislature, to Washington, D.C., to collect a large sum of money due the state of Texas by the federal government. Clement R. Johns was never a member of any church; he was a :Mason, and, in politics, he was always a staunch Democrat. See Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas, New York, 1880; pp. 119-120; .Menw1·ial and Ge11ea- logical Reco1·d of S01Lthwest Texas, Chicago, 1894; pp. 158-176. 2 William R. Scurry (February 10, 1821-April 30, 1864). For brief sketch, see Volume IV, p. 255. 3 David Rusk, the brother of Thomas J. Rusk, came to Texas in 1836. He immediately enlisted in the Texas army, and his service record shows that he served in the company of Captain Hayden Arnold, from April 6, to June 6, 1836. Later, he was sheriff of Nacogdoches County from 1840 to 1846. He died in Orange County, on September 11, 1877. See Dixon and Kemp, The Heroes of San Jacinto, 349; Southwestern H.isto1-ical Quarterly, XXXIV, 181-202, 171-181, passim; a considerable mass of information con- cerning this man may be gleaned from the Rusk Pape1·s, University o! Texas Library. To H. W1LKIE 1 Executive Department, Austin, Texas, Jan. 6th, 1860. H. Wilkie Esq. Present Dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the due receipt of your note of the 4th instant, tendering your resignation as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Blind Asylum of the State of Texas, which is hereby accepted. Sam Houston. 1 Executive Records, 1859-1861, p. 8, Texas State Library. A VETO MESSAGE TO THE SENATE 1 Executive Department, Austin, Texas, January 9, 1860. Gentlemen of the Senate: I herewith return to your honorable body a bill which originated therein, entitled an act supple-
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