HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

John Viven

Houston, Harris County, Texas

Marker Inscription

A member of Captain William Wood's company at San Jacinto. Died in Houston, October 26, 1856.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

This marker remembers John Viven, who served in Captain William Wood's company at the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive 1836 victory that won Texas its independence. He later died in Houston in 1856, one of the revolution's veterans who lived to see the republic become a state.

Why it matters

It honors a rank-and-file soldier of San Jacinto, a reminder that the fight for Texas independence was won by ordinary volunteers.

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Related people

  • ยท John Viven
  • ยท Capt. William Wood

Related events

  • ยท Battle of San Jacinto

Themes & tags

Military & WartimeMemorial

Nearby & related markers

George Allen

Houston, TX

Born in New York in 1812, George Allen came to Texas in the 1830s and fought in the war for independence, later joining the Somervell Expedition. In 1838 he settled in Houston to help his brothers Augustus and John Kirby Allen establish the new city, and in 1839 became the first committeeman charged with improving Buffalo Bayou, its vital shipping artery. His work helped set Houston on its course as a commercial port.

Robert Barr

Houston, TX

Robert Barr fought at San Jacinto, the 1836 battle that won Texas its independence, and went on to serve the young Republic of Texas as postmaster general under both Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar. An Ohio native, he died of yellow fever in Houston in 1839, a reminder of how disease stalked the coastal republic. His burial by the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges and the Milam Guards reflects the tight civic fraternity of frontier Houston.