Columbus Lafayette "Zip" Thurmond, Sr.

Notes:

Esther McGrew Hardin says he "was the achiever of the bunch." He was sheriff, and at one time held just about every other office in Victoria Co, TX. He was considered the model sheriff of Texas. Per the Handbook of Texas, Columbus "Old Zip" Thurmond was a native of Tennessee and came to Texas at an early age and settled in Victoria County. He was a merchant in the firm of J.O. Wheeler and became treasurer of Victoria County in 1846. He married in 1858 to Maggie McGrew; they were parents of four children. He operated stores at Goliad and Brownsville between 1863 and 1865, when he became a land agent. He was sheriff of Victoria in 1884. His papers, covering 1831 to 1897, are in the Archives at the University of Texas.

His birthdate was auspicious. On November 13, 1833, between midnight and dawn, thousands of meteors showered the sky over North America. To the native peoples of the land, it appeared that the stars were falling out of the heavens. Some thought it was the judgment day. Others called it "The Night the Stars Fell".

A young girl who was a slave at the time of the event said "Somebody in the quarters started yellin' in the middle of the night to come out and to look up at the sky. We went outside and there they was a fallin' everywhere! Big stars coming down real close to the groun' and just before they hit the ground they would burn up! We was all scared. Some O'the folks was screamin' and some was prayin' we all made so much noise, the white folk came out to see what was happenin'. They looked up and then they got scared too."

The celestial phenomenon called "the most impressive and awesome display ever recorded" was, in fact, the Leonids meteor shower seen in one of its most impressive years. Viewers witnessed 50,000to 150,000 meteors per hour, only equaled by the November 17, 1966 display, when the Leonid shower brought 150,000 meteors per hour. Debris from the comet Temple-Tuttle that orbits the sun every 33 years causes the shower."

Columbus married Margaret Alice McGrew on 2 Apr 1857 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas. Margaret (daughter of John McGrew and Nancy Holliday) was born on 3 Mar 1835 in Mississippi; died on 13 Jul 1914 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Alfred Seymour Thurmond was born on 3 Mar 1858 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died on 12 Dec 1918 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
2. Columbus Lafeyette Thurmond, Jr. was born about 1859 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died on 12 Dec 1919 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
3. Annie Laurie Thurmond was born on 13 May 1862 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died on 15 May 1896 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
4. Sam Houston Wells Thurmond was born in 1866 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died in 1901 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
5. Jesse James Thurmond was born in 1871 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died in 1963 in Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine.
6. Benjamin Thurmond was born in 1872 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died before 1882 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
7. George Murat Thurmond was born on 14 Dec 1873 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died on 10 Jul 1925 in Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas.
8. Martha Malina Thurmond was born on 24 Feb 1879 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died on 12 Nov 1966 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
9. Thomas Pulaski Thurmond was born in 1881 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died before 1891 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
10. Benton Mcculloch Thurmond was born in 1883 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died in 1893 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.
11. John Garibaldi Thurmond was born in 1885 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas; died in 1889 in Victoria, Victoria County, Texas.

Notes:

Location of death shown by some as in Lauderdale County, TN and by others as in Dyersburg, Dyer County, TN.

John married Anna Louisa Sturges on 19 Dec 1811 in Columbia County, Georgia. Anna was born on 30 May 1797 in Columbia County, Georgia; died about 1855 in Refugio County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
The "TotalFam" Tree at WorldConnect has the following notes relating to the marriage of John Green Thurmond and Ann Sturgis. "I have a copy of John G Thurmond and Ann Sturgis marriage bond from Columbia County GA records. 1787 to 1935 Microfilm Drawer #190 Box #63. The bond dated ninth day of December 1811. Newspaper "Mirror of the Times" of Augusta GA issue dated Dec. 23, 1811 states they were married on December 19, 1811."