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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Winlow Place Civic Club and the Harris County |
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Historical Commission are dedicating a historical marker at Sidney |
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Lanier Middle School in Houston on September 10, 2011, in memory of |
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Texas pioneer Obedience Fort Smith; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in 1771, Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Sarah |
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Suggs Fort and Elias Fort, a leading Particular Baptist deacon in |
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North Carolina and later in Tennessee; she married David Smith in |
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1791, and the couple had 11 children, though only 4 survived their |
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parents; the family lived in Kentucky and later in Mississippi, |
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where David Smith passed away in 1835; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Smith subsequently followed her son, Benjamin |
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Fort Smith, to Texas, where he was an adjutant to General Sam |
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Houston; arriving just weeks before Texas declared its |
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independence, she received a land grant two years later for |
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thousands of acres of what is now the west side of Houston, and the |
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titles of many properties in the city still cite the Obedience Smith |
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survey; and |
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WHEREAS, A founder of the First Baptist Church of Houston in |
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1841, Mrs. Smith was also the matriarch of a family that left its |
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mark on Texas history in many ways; her family members and |
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descendants include judges John W. N. A. Smith and T. B. J. Hadley, |
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Mississippi governor and Texas state senator Hiram George Runnels, |
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Civil War colonels Benjamin Franklin Terry and Thomas Saltus |
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Lubbock, suffragist and Texas Women's Press Association founder |
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Aurelia Mohl, first librarian of the Houston Lyceum Margaret |
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Foster, and a founder of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Mabel |
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Smith-Astin; Mrs. Smith passed away in 1847; and |
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WHEREAS, The installation of this historical marker |
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acknowledges the unique role that Obedience Smith played in the |
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history of Texas and of its largest city, and it helps ensure that |
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the story of this remarkable woman will be preserved for |
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generations to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commemorate the dedication |
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of a historical marker in memory of Obedience Fort Smith and extend |
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to all those taking part in the ceremony sincere best wishes for a |
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meaningful and memorable event. |
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S. Davis of Harris |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 180 was adopted by the House on June |
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27, 2011, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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