HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

John Hobson

Cameron, Milam County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, to John and Susannah Harris Hobson, John Hobson moved to Texas in 1835 and was received as a Robertson colonist in December of that year. Hobson received a headright for a league of land. When Texas went to war against Mexico he enlisted in the Texas Army under the command of Captain Jesse Billingsley and fought at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1863. After the war Hobson remained in the Texas Army, serving as a Ranger until 1837. Receiving additional land grants as payment for his army service, he became one of the largest landowners in the Milam County area. In 1839 he married Eliza Moore, the daughter of a local justice of the peace. Hobson became one of the first commissioners of Milam County in 1846 and helped to select the town of Cameron as the county seat. (1999)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, John Hobson came to Texas in 1835 and was received as a colonist in Sterling Robertson's colony, earning a league of land. When the Texas Revolution broke out he enlisted under Captain Jesse Billingsley and fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, then served on as a Texas Ranger. Rewarded with further land grants, he became one of Milam County's largest landowners, one of its first commissioners in 1846, and helped choose Cameron as the county seat.

Why it matters

Hobson's life traces the arc of Anglo-American settlement in Texas—from empresario colony to revolution to the founding of the counties and towns that organized the new state.

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Related people

  • · John Hobson
  • · Jesse Billingsley
  • · Eliza Moore

Related events

  • · Battle of San Jacinto
  • · Texas Revolution

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionMilitary & WartimeFrontier HistoryLandmark

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