Columbus Lafayette "Zip" Thurmond, Sr.

1833 - 1903  (69 years)

• Name	Columbus Lafayette "Zip" Thurmond  [1, 2]
  Suffix	Sr.
  Nickname	Zip
  Birth	13 Nov 1833	Lauderdale County, Tennessee   [1, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1 Feb 1903	Victoria County, Texas   [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 d. Bef 1840, Tennessee (Age 54 years)
  Mother	Anna Louisa Sturges,   b. 30 May 1797, Columbia County, Georgia d. Abt 1855, Refugio County, Texas (Age 57 years)
  Marriage	19 Dec 1811	Columbia County, Georgia   [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 d. 13 Jul 1914, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 79 years)
  Marriage	2 Apr 1857	Victoria, Victoria County, Texas   [5, 6]
  Children	1. Alfred Seymour Thurmond,   b. 3 Mar 1858, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 12 Dec 1918, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 60 years)   2. Columbus Lafeyette Thurmond, Jr.,   b. Abt 1859, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 12 Dec 1919, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 60 years)   3. Annie Laurie Thurmond,   b. 13 May 1862, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 15 May 1896, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 34 years)   4. Sam Houston Wells Thurmond,   b. 1866, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 1901, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 35 years)   5. Jesse James Thurmond,   b. 1871, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 1963, Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine (Age 92 years)   6. Benjamin Thurmond,   b. 1872, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. Bef 1882, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 9 years)   7. George Murat Thurmond,   b. 14 Dec 1873, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 10 Jul 1925, Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas (Age 51 years)   8. Martha Malina Thurmond,   b. 24 Feb 1879, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 12 Nov 1966, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 87 years)   9. Thomas Pulaski Thurmond,   b. 1881, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. Bef 1891, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 9 years)   10. Benton Mcculloch Thurmond,   b. 1883, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 1893, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 10 years)   11. John Garibaldi Thurmond,   b. 1885, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas d. 1889, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas (Age 4 years)
  Family ID	F1427	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	1 Jul 2014

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 13 Nov 1833 - Lauderdale County, Tennessee Marriage - 2 Apr 1857 - Victoria, Victoria County, Texas Death - 1 Feb 1903 - Victoria County, Texas  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S202] McGrew, Wynema THE JAMES McGREW FAMILY (1744-1797) Second Edition, 1999, p. 379 (Reliability: 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, transcribed as Nov 1834, Tennessee, but headstone engraved with year of birth as 1833 also # 76100060 (Reliability: 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). [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). [S201] McGrew, Everette THE SOUTHERN McGREWS GREW (2106 Freeland Way, Dallas TX 75228). [S202] McGrew, Wynema THE JAMES McGREW FAMILY (1744-1797) Second Edition, 1999, p. 378 (Reliability: 3).