Friday, March 29, 2024

Elijah Gossett: Pioneer, patriot, judge

Posted

LEGENDS OF TEXAS

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: The story of Elijah Gossett is told by Daniel Cowin, his fourth great-grandson. Daniel and his family live in Missouri but Texas is in his heart. Daniel is a proud member of the David Crockett Chapter of The Sons of the Republic of Texas.

Little did I know that I would become Judge Elijah Gossett in Houston County, Texas, when I was living in the mountains of Tennessee as a young boy. I was born in Maury County, Tennessee near Rutherford Creek, on the cold day of Feb. 1, 1788, to parents William Gossett and Nancy Ann (Smith) Gossett. I spent my childhood and young adulthood in the mountainous area of Tennessee. One of my closest boyhood friends who later became a friend for life was the son of our neighbors, the Crockett Family. His name was David Crockett.

As I grew to manhood in Maury County, Tennessee, I met and married Elizabeth Stone Edwards on Dec. 28, 1809, and we began our family there in Maury County. In 1833, my three grown sons along with the rest of our family made the decision to move to Texas where we could receive land grants from the Mexican government. We began our journey to Texas in 1835.

There was an extraordinary event that took place during our trip that I will never forget. A huge meteor shower occurred while we were passing through Arkansas. It became known as “the night the stars fell.”

Continuing our two-month trip, we finally made it to Texas and settled near present-day Marlin, Texas. But due to numerous Indian attacks and raids, we were forced to relocate Nacogdoches County, which later become Houston County. We were now living in Mexican Texas.

In January 1836, I met with my old childhood friend David Crockett and his men. They were on their way to the Alamo, but David took time to spend the night with us. It was a special time for me and my family. Friendship is a blessing and the bond of friendship between the Crocketts and Gossetts is eternal. David called our newly built home the David Crockett’s Gossett home.

My three sons, James Lochridge, Andrew Edwards, John Van Dyke and I volunteered for the Texas army soon after David left our home. We served under Captain William Spurlock and Brigadier General Thomas J. Rusk for the duration of the war. After Texas won its independence and became a republic, my three sons and I joined Captain Elisha Clapps’ company of Texas Rangers and served on the frontier.

The Mexican Army was defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. Shortly thereafter, my son Andrew Edwards and I had the privilege of naming the first county in Texas in honor of my distant cousin and general of the Texas Army, Sam Houston. We also had the privilege of naming the city where David Crockett’s Gossett home was located. To honor of my friend who had given his life at the Alamo; we chose the name Crockett, Texas. To this day, it remains the city of Crockett in Houston County, Texas.

In 1845, I was elected chief justice (county judge) of Houston County. I was also appointed one of 11 trustees of Trinity College, which was first established at Alabama, Texas in Houston County. In 1845, the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas established Trinity College on Jan. 30, 1841.

While on a business trip to Van Zandt, Texas, where I owned some land, I became ill and passed on to my eternal home on Nov. 24, 1848. My body was returned to Crockett, Texas by ox-drawn wagon and buried in the Old Glenwood Cemetery in Crockett. It was a pleasant surprise when in 1937, the Texas Centennial Commission placed a marker on my grave.

My closing words are that I have a great love for God, mankind and my beloved Texas that I worked for, enduring much hardship, but also enjoying good time and victories. As long as Gossett descendants are living, no matter where they live, we will love and have Texas in our hearts forever.

God bless Texas!