Robert A. Terrell
Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(February 22, 1820 - March 8, 1881) A native of Tennessee, Robert Adams Terrell lived in Kentucky, Missouri, and Louisiana before coming to the Republic of Texas about 1840. A farmer and surveyor by trade, he was commissioned to locate headright land grants in several North Texas counties, receiving vast amounts of land as payment. He served the Republic of Texas as a soldier in several expeditions, and in 1861 enlisted in the Confederate Army. The town of Terrell, platted on land he surveyed, was named for him. His 1864 octagon-shaped house in Terrell is a Recorded Texas historic Landmark. (1994)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Robert Adams Terrell wandered from Tennessee through Kentucky, Missouri, and Louisiana before reaching the Republic of Texas around 1840. As a surveyor he located headright land grants across North Texas—paid in vast tracts of land—served in Republic expeditions, and enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861. The town of Terrell rose on land he had surveyed and took his name.
Why it matters
His career embodies how surveyors turned the raw claims of the Texas Republic into the counties and towns that followed.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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