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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Among the early Anglo settlers of Texas who took |
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part in the struggle for independence and in the work of developing |
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the new republic were members of the related Zumwalt, Kent, and |
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Burket families; and |
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WHEREAS, Six of these interconnected families arrived in |
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Texas from Missouri in about 1830 and settled in DeWitt's Colony, |
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located in what is now Gonzales, Lavaca, DeWitt, Guadalupe, and |
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Caldwell Counties; notable among their members were "Black" Adam |
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Zumwalt, his brother-in-law Andrew Kent, his cousin "Red" Adam |
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Zumwalt, and another relative, David Burket; and |
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WHEREAS, Before the Texas Revolution, "Black" Adam Zumwalt |
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and his family lived in the Gonzales area, and in the late spring of |
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1835, Mr. Zumwalt attended the organizational meeting of the |
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Gonzales Committee of Safety and Correspondence; the following |
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October, he and his son Andrew took part in what is considered to be |
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the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution; known as the Battle of |
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Gonzales, the confrontation saw colonists repel a Mexican force |
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sent out from San Antonio to retrieve a cannon that had earlier been |
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lent to them for their protection against the Indians; on February |
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1, 1836, Mr. Zumwalt participated in the election of delegates to |
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the Convention of 1836, which adopted the Texas Declaration of |
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Independence, and after the fall of the Alamo on March 6, 1836, |
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General Sam Houston appointed him to manage the evacuation of |
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families living along the Lavaca River; while Mr. Zumwalt was |
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engaged in that duty, his son Andrew participated in the Battle of |
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San Jacinto; "Black" Adam Zumwalt subsequently served in the Texas |
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Army from June 6 to September 6, 1836; and |
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WHEREAS, After his return to the Gonzales area in 1837, Mr. |
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Zumwalt moved his family to a site in present-day Lavaca County that |
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became known as Zumwalt Settlement; elected captain of a militia |
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company, a post he held for some eight years, he took part in |
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various punitive expeditions against groups of marauding Indians, |
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including the large force that carried out the Linnville Raid of |
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1840; he also fought in the Battle of Salado Creek, an engagement |
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that took place on September 18, 1842, between Texas forces led by |
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Mathew Caldwell and Mexican troops under the command of General |
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Adrian Woll, who had just seized San Antonio; in that encounter the |
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Texans prevailed, and General Woll withdrew to Mexico; and |
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WHEREAS, Sometime during the 1850s, Mr. Zumwalt moved to |
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Fayette County, where he became associated with the settlements of |
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Cistern, Plum or Elm Grove, and Slack's Well; he died in Fayette |
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County on July 11, 1872; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Zumwalt's brother-in-law Andrew Kent took |
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possession of a league of land on the west bank of the Lavaca River; |
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he fought in the Battle of Gonzales, alongside his son David, and |
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later participated in electing delegates to the Convention of 1836; |
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on February 27, 1836, he joined some 30 other members of the |
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Gonzales Ranging Company of Mounted Volunteers and set off to aid |
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the Texas troops besieged in the Alamo, where he perished during |
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General Santa Anna's final assault on the fort; and |
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WHEREAS, "Red" Adam Zumwalt settled with his family in |
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Gonzales, where he built a residence that also served as a boarding |
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house/hotel and restaurant; the establishment was located on St. |
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James Street, across from the municipal plaza; Mr. Zumwalt also |
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voted in the election that chose delegates to the Convention of |
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1836, and he assisted in evacuating Gonzales-area families during |
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the Runaway Scrape; by 1837 or 1838 he and his family had returned |
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to Gonzales, which General Houston had ordered his men to burn, and |
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began to rebuild their lives; Mr. Zumwalt is believed to have |
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provided shelter and meals to many other returning settlers while |
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they were in the midst of erecting their new homes; "Red" Adam |
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Zumwalt also held title to a league of land north of Gonzales on the |
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San Marcos River, where he developed a farm and ranch; he died there |
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on March 9, 1853; and |
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WHEREAS, David Burket, who married into the extended Zumwalt |
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family, settled initially on property adjacent to Gonzales; he is |
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thought to have helped organize the Gonzales Committee of Safety |
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and Correspondence, and he subsequently voted for delegates to the |
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Convention of 1836; in the wake of General Santa Anna's victory at |
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the Alamo, he joined "Red" Adam Zumwalt in overseeing the exodus of |
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families from the Gonzales area; after returning to Gonzales in |
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1838, he settled with his family south of town, on the Guadalupe |
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River; Mr. Burket died on December 7, 1845; and |
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WHEREAS, The lives of these pioneer settlers are a vivid |
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reminder of the remarkable fortitude that enabled Texans of that |
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era to persevere in the face of extreme hardship and danger, and |
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their contributions and sacrifice are indeed deserving of |
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commemoration; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the lives of "Black" Adam |
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Zumwalt, Andrew Kent, "Red" Adam Zumwalt, and David Burket for the |
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roles they played at one of the most fateful junctures in the |
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history of Texas. |