Bill Text: TX HR180 | 2011 | 82nd Legislature 1st Special | Enrolled

Texas House Resolution 180 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Commemorating the dedication of a historical marker in memory of Texas pioneer Obedience Fort Smith of Houston.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-06-28 - Reported enrolled [HR180 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HR180-Enrolled.html



	H.R. No. 180



	R E S O L U T I O N

	WHEREAS, The Winlow Place Civic Club and the Harris County
	Historical Commission are dedicating a historical marker at Sidney
	Lanier Middle School in Houston on September 10, 2011, in memory of
	Texas pioneer Obedience Fort Smith; and
	WHEREAS, Born in 1771, Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Sarah
	Suggs Fort and Elias Fort, a leading Particular Baptist deacon in
	North Carolina and later in Tennessee; she married David Smith in
	1791, and the couple had 11 children, though only 4 survived their
	parents; the family lived in Kentucky and later in Mississippi,
	where David Smith passed away in 1835; and
	WHEREAS, Mrs. Smith subsequently followed her son, Benjamin
	Fort Smith, to Texas, where he was an adjutant to General Sam
	Houston; arriving just weeks before Texas declared its
	independence, she received a land grant two years later for
	thousands of acres of what is now the west side of Houston, and the
	titles of many properties in the city still cite the Obedience Smith
	survey; and
	WHEREAS, A founder of the First Baptist Church of Houston in
	1841, Mrs. Smith was also the matriarch of a family that left its
	mark on Texas history in many ways; her family members and
	descendants include judges John W. N. A. Smith and T. B. J. Hadley,
	Mississippi governor and Texas state senator Hiram George Runnels,
	Civil War colonels Benjamin Franklin Terry and Thomas Saltus
	Lubbock, suffragist and Texas Women's Press Association founder
	Aurelia Mohl, first librarian of the Houston Lyceum Margaret
	Foster, and a founder of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Mabel
	Smith-Astin; Mrs. Smith passed away in 1847; and
	WHEREAS, The installation of this historical marker
	acknowledges the unique role that Obedience Smith played in the
	history of Texas and of its largest city, and it helps ensure that
	the story of this remarkable woman will be preserved for
	generations to come; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
	Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commemorate the dedication
	of a historical marker in memory of Obedience Fort Smith and extend
	to all those taking part in the ceremony sincere best wishes for a
	meaningful and memorable event.

	S. Davis of Harris

	______________________________
	Speaker of the House

	I certify that H.R. No. 180 was adopted by the House on June
	27, 2011, by a non-record vote.

	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House