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Columbus Lafayette "Zip" Thurmond, Sr.

Male 1833 - 1903  (69 years)


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  • Name Columbus Lafayette "Zip" Thurmond  [1, 2
    Suffix Sr. 
    Nickname Zip 
    Birth 13 Nov 1833  Lauderdale County, Tennessee Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 3
    Gender Male 
    Death 1 Feb 1903  Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 3
    Burial Y  [3
    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."
    Person ID I2225  Strong Family Tree
    Last Modified 17 Aug 2014 

    Father John Green Thurmond,   b. Abt 1785, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 1840, Tennessee Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 54 years) 
    Mother Anna Louisa Sturges,   b. 30 May 1797, Columbia County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 1855, Refugio County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 57 years) 
    Marriage 19 Dec 1811  Columbia County, Georgia Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    • 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."
    Family ID F1439  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Margaret Alice McGrew,   b. 3 Mar 1835, Mississippi Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Jul 1914, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 79 years) 
    Marriage 2 Apr 1857  Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 6
    Children 
     1. Alfred Seymour Thurmond,   b. 3 Mar 1858, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 12 Dec 1918, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 60 years)
     2. Columbus Lafeyette Thurmond, Jr.,   b. Abt 1859, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 12 Dec 1919, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 60 years)
     3. Annie Laurie Thurmond,   b. 13 May 1862, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 15 May 1896, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 34 years)
     4. Sam Houston Wells Thurmond,   b. 1866, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1901, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 35 years)
     5. Jesse James Thurmond,   b. 1871, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1963, Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 92 years)
     6. Benjamin Thurmond,   b. 1872, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 1882, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 9 years)
     7. George Murat Thurmond,   b. 14 Dec 1873, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 10 Jul 1925, Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 51 years)
     8. Martha Malina Thurmond,   b. 24 Feb 1879, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 12 Nov 1966, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 87 years)
     9. Thomas Pulaski Thurmond,   b. 1881, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 1891, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 9 years)
     10. Benton Mcculloch Thurmond,   b. 1883, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1893, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 10 years)
     11. John Garibaldi Thurmond,   b. 1885, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1889, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 4 years)
    Family ID F1427  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 1 Jul 2014 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 13 Nov 1833 - Lauderdale County, Tennessee Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 2 Apr 1857 - Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 1 Feb 1903 - Victoria County, Texas Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S202] McGrew, Wynema THE JAMES McGREW FAMILY (1744-1797) Second Edition, 1999, p. 379 (Reliability: 3).

    2. [S873] Find A Grave [database online]; http://www.findagrave.com/, (Thousands of contributors submit new listings, updates, corrections, photographs and virtual flowers every hour to the FIND A GRAVE website. When it comes to administrating, building and maintaining the site, Find A Grave is largely operated by its founder, Jim Tipton.), # 78729071, transcribed as Nov 1834, Tennessee, but headstone engraved with year of birth as 1833 also # 76100060 (Reliability: 3).

    3. [S873] Find A Grave [database online]; http://www.findagrave.com/, (Thousands of contributors submit new listings, updates, corrections, photographs and virtual flowers every hour to the FIND A GRAVE website. When it comes to administrating, building and maintaining the site, Find A Grave is largely operated by its founder, Jim Tipton.), # 78729071 also # 76100060 (Reliability: 3).

    4. [S667] RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project, (The WorldConnect Project is a set of tools, which allow users to upload, modify, link, and display their family trees as a means to share their genealogy with other researchers. The program used to day has a genealogy of its own. RootsWeb announced the launch of the World Connect Project on November 10, 1999 after staff members and users submitted 5.5 million records during a four-week beta-testing period. The WorldConnect Project continues to grow, and as of January 2004 had more than 312 million records. GEDCOM is an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunications. It is a file format developed by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It provides a flexible and uniform format for exchanging computerized genealogical data, and allows you to share files with other researchers who may not use the same genealogy program.), http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mlb2&id=P57483 (Reliability: 3).

    5. [S201] McGrew, Everette THE SOUTHERN McGREWS GREW (2106 Freeland Way, Dallas TX 75228).

    6. [S202] McGrew, Wynema THE JAMES McGREW FAMILY (1744-1797) Second Edition, 1999, p. 378 (Reliability: 3).