Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/390

 HOUSrON

HOUSTON

the church known as St. Martin's-in-the-Field. He was a gtMierous benefactor of Washington and Lee university and of the University of Penn- sylvania, of both of which institutions he was a trustee, 1886-95. To the former lie gave the sum of $7000 as the foundation of the Howai-d Houston fellowship, and to the latter he gave, as a memorial to liis oldest son, Henry Howard Houston (1858-1879; B.S., University of Pennsyl- vania, 1878), the sum of §100,000 for the build- ing of Houston Hall, a club house " for the daily use of the students of tiie university." He was married in 185G to Sallie Sherred Bonnell, who survived him with three children: Mrs. Charles W. Henry, Samuel Frederic Houston and Mrs. George Woodward. Mr. Houston died in Phila- delphia, Pa., June 21, 1805.

HOUSTON, John Wallace, representative, was born in Concord, Sussex county, Del., May 4, 1814; son of John and Elizabeth (Wiltbank) Houston. He was prepared for college at Newark academy. Newcastle county, by tiie Rev. A. K. Russell, 1837-30, and was graduated at Yale, A.B., 1834, A.M., 1837. He was a law student in the office of John M. Clayton, Dover, Del., 1834-37; was admitted to the bar in 1837, and practised law in Georgetown, Del., 1839-55. He was appointed secretary of state by Governor Cooper in 1841, serving, 1841-44, and represented Delaware as a Whig in the 29th, 30th and 31st congresses, 1845-51. He was the only representative from a slave-holding state to vote for the Wilmot Proviso. He was associate judge of the supreme court of Delaware, 1855-93, and a delegate to the peace conference of 1861. He compiled six volumes of Reports of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of Delaware. He never married. He died in George- town. Del.. April 26, 1896.

HOUSTON, Sam, president of the republic of Texas, was born in Rockbridge county, Va., March 2, 1793; son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Paxton) Houston; grandson of Robert and Margaret (Davidson) Houston; great-grandson of Samuel and Ann (Dunlop) Davidson, and greaf^-grandson of Jolin Houston, of lowland Scotch origin, who emigrated from the north of Ireland in 1689 and settled in PhiladelpJiia. The Paxton family immigrated to America at the same time as the Houstons and in their com- pany. Samuel Houston served in General Mor- gan's brigade of riflemen in the war for indepen- dence and was assistant inspector-general of frontier troops with the rank of major at its close. He died in 1806, and his widow with her nine children, Sam at the time being thirteen years old, crossed the Alleghany mountains and .settled in Blount county, where a cabin was built and the family lived the hard life of pioneers. Of the early educational advantages of Sam little is

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recorded. He could read, however, and his one book was Pope's translation of the Iliad, which he knew nearly by heart. He was a clerk in a. trader's store, when he suddenly left home and went to live with the Cherokee Indians, where he was adopted in the family of one of the sub-chiefs of the tribe. He acquired their language, wore their dress and lived apart from his family until 1811, when he returned to civiliza- tion in order to pay his debts incurred in the purchase of am- munition and trink- ets during his vol- untary nomadic life. He taught a coun- try school, and with the money so earned liquidated liis debts and paid for his tuition for a session at Mary- ville academj', his only school attendance. He then enlisted as a recruit in the army organ- izing for the war of 1812, and was made sergeant of a detachment which joined a regiment march- ing against the Creek Indians. While the regi- ment was at Knoxville he received from Presi- dent Madison a commission as ensign, and he subsequently joined General Jackson's army and took part in the desperate battle of Tohopeka, Ala. , March 29, 1814, where he was wounded with a barbed arrow while scaling the enemy's breast- works, and he was ordered to the rear by Jack- son. He refused to leave the field, forced his comrades to pull out the arrow by main strength, and with blood flowing from the wound, and un- supported, he answered the call for volunteers to storm the ravine in which the remnant of the Creeks had taken refuge. He reached the en- trance, when he fell pierced by two bullets in his right arm and shoulder. He was borne from the field and liis wounds were pronounced fatal by the surgeon in attendance. One of the bullets was removed, but the other he carried in Jiis shoulder for two years and the wound liad not liealed at the day of his death. His gallantry gained for him promotion to a lieutenancy, and the lifelong friendship of General Jackson. He resigned his commission in 1818, Avlien his motives in defending his old friends, the Cherokee In- dians, from the rapacity of government agents, were questioned. He was admitted to the bar after six months' preparation, liis cliir>f recom- mendation being his eloquence as a speaker, and lie never claimed to be other than a political lawyer. He was prosecuting attorney of the