George Lord
Westhoff, DeWitt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
George Lord was born in Essex County, England on April 21, 1816 to Felstead and Anna Siggs Lord. He immigrated to Canada in 1834 and worked there for two years. He then moved to New Orleans and joined other volunteers under a Capt. Lyons to serve in the military of the young Republic of Texas. They arrived in Galveston in 1837. As part of the Texan Army, Lord participated in a number of operations, including suppression of the Córdova Rebellion (1838) and the fight against Manuel Flores (1839). He also fought in Mexico with the Federalists before returning to Texas. He joined the Somervell Expedition to expel forces of Gen. Adrián Woll from the Republic, fighting at the Battle of Salado Creek (1842) with many notable Texas figures like John C. "Jack" Hays and William "Bigfoot" Wallace. Lord was among those who then followed Col. William Fisher into Mexico. Fisher's men were captured after fighting at Mier, and as part of the infamous "Black Bean Incident," ten percent were executed while the others remained imprisoned. Lord was not selected for execution; he survived the harsh conditions at Mexico's Perote Prison, returned to Texas and fought in the Mexican War as a Ranger. In 1849, Lord accompanied Jack Hays and others to California during the Gold Rush. Along the way, he wed Catherine "Kate" Myers (1832-1909) in Eagle Pass, Texas. The couple spent three years mining for gold; Kate sold pies to other miners while her husband collected gold dust. They returned to Texas with $7,000 worth of gold and settled near this site in DeWitt County, where they established a Longhorn cattle ranch and reared 11 children. Lord died while working in his garden in 1895. Today, he is remembered as a Texas patriot. (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in England in 1816, George Lord immigrated to Canada and then New Orleans before joining volunteers for the army of the young Republic of Texas in 1837. He fought through the turbulent 1830s and '40s—the Córdova Rebellion, the Somervell Expedition, and the ill-fated Mier Expedition, where he survived the notorious Black Bean lottery and imprisonment at Perote—then served as a Ranger in the Mexican War. In 1849 he joined the Gold Rush to California, marrying Kate Myers along the way, and the couple returned with a fortune in gold to establish a Longhorn ranch in DeWitt County.
Why it matters
Lord's astonishing life threads together nearly every defining episode of early Texas—revolution, the Mier Expedition, the Rangers, and the Gold Rush—embodying the era's restless frontier spirit.
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Related people
- · George Lord
- · Catherine "Kate" Myers
- · John C. "Jack" Hays
- · William "Bigfoot" Wallace
- · William Fisher
Related events
- · Mier Expedition
- · Black Bean Incident
- · California Gold Rush
Themes & tags
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