Andrew Jackson Montgomery - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Per the Texas Historical Commission's Online Handbook:

"Andrew Jackson Montgomery, adventurer, businessman, soldier, and surveyor, was born near Maryville, Tennessee, on April 4, 1801, to William and Mary (James) Montgomery. By 1816 the family was living in Alabama. In 1819, at the age of eighteen, Montgomery took part in the filibustering expedition of James Long into Texas. His duties included scouting the territory between the camps that Long established in East Texas. Montgomery's connections among the Bidai Indians enabled him to remain in hiding in Texas after the Spanish drove out most of the rest of the expedition. Subsequently, the Mexicans successfully rebelled against their Spanish masters, making it possible for Montgomery to establish, in 1823, a trading post on the lower Coushatta Trace, an Indian trail stretching between the Brazos and Trinity rivers. Intersecting this trace from north to south at Montgomery's post was the Indian trail known as the Loma del Toro. Montgomery advertised for and welcomed settlers to the trading post and to the budding community surrounding it, which was known at first as Montgomery Prairie. By 1827 much of his family had joined him, including his father, his uncle James, and his aunt Margaret and her husband, Owen Shannon. These Montgomerys were all cousins of Gen. Richard Montgomery of Revolutionary War fame. Before the construction of Fort Parker in 1835, Montgomery did surveying in the area as well as near the Brazos Falls for the Nashville Colony. During the Texas Revolution he served as a private and fought in the battle of San Jacinto. On April 21, 1860, he served as vice president of the convention that nominated his friend and former commander, Sam Houston, for president of the United States. Montgomery eventually moved a few miles west to the community now known as Stoneham. The settlement that he had established near his trading post continued to use the name Montgomery, and in 1837 Montgomery County was named after the town. At the age of forty-three Montgomery married Mary Mahulda Farris, and they had nine children. He died in 1863 and was buried in Stoneham.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Robin Navarro Montgomery, The History of Montgomery County (Austin: Jenkins, 1974)."

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Note: Although Andrew Jackson Montgomery's headstone is a "1936 Centennial"-style gray granite marker, it not officially listed as a separate historical marker in the THC Atlas. It reads:

"Andrew Jackson Montgomery

Participated in the Battle of San Jacinto as
a member of Captain James Gillaspie's company.

Erected by the
State of Texas 1957"

A latter-addition inset on the headstone reads:

"Born in Tennessee in 1801
Came to Texas in 1819"

Marker Number: 8602 Marker Text: (Apr. 4, 1801 - Dec. 3, 1863) Born in Blount County, Tennessee, Andrew Jackson Montgomery came to Texas in 1819 with the James Long Expedition. In 1823, as the first known settler in Montgomery County, he opened a trading post at the crossing of two Indian trails. From his post emerged the town of Montgomery from which Montgomery County took its name. A veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, Montgomery married Mary Mahulda Farris at age 43, and they had nine children. Recorded - 1986

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Date Logged Log   10/11/2019 Raven visited it