Person:Richardson Scurry (1)

CHRONOLOGY:^[3]

abt 1830: Studied law in Sumner County, Tennessee, and was admitted to the Tennessee bar.

Feb 1836: Traveled from Tennessee to the Red River district of Texas.

10 Mar 1836: Enlisted in Isaac N. Moreland's company, Texas Army.

21 Apr 1836: Fought at San Jacinto as 4th Sgt. in Moreland's company.

4 Oct 1836: Resigned from the army (at which time he was a 1st Lieut).

Oct-Dec 1836: Secretary of the Texas Senate in its first session.

Nov 1836: Settled in Clarksville, where he resumed his law practice.

19 Dec 1836: Appointed district attorney of the First Judicial District by Pres. San Houston.

20 Jan 1840: Elected judge of the Sixth Judicial District by the Congress of the Republic, which also automatically made him a member of the Texas Supreme Court.

5 Feb 1841: Resigned as district attorney of the Sixth District to become district attorney of the Fifth District.

1842-1844: Member for two terms of the Republic of Texas House of Representives from San Augustine County. Speaker of the House in his second term.

4 Aug 1851: Elected as a Democrat in a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives for one term.

1852: Texas Delegate to the national Democratic convention.

Mar 1853: Resumed his law practice in what was then Austin County, now Waller County.

Aug 1854: Accidentally shot himself in the foot while hunting. The wound never properly healed.

1861: Appointed Adjutant-General on the staff of Albert Sidney Johnston.

Apr 1862: Underwent further medical treatment for his wound of seven years before and his leg was amputated. He never recovered and died soon after.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Red River, Texas, United States. 1850 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   p. 221.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Find A Grave.

   Find a Grave
   
   FROM: Find-a-Grave.
   
   US Congressman. He was born in Gallatin, Tennessee and became an attorney in Covington in 1830. He later moved to Texas and joined its fight for independence from Mexico, receiving a commission as a First Lieutenant and taking part in the Battle of San Jacinto. When Texas became a republic he established a law practice in Clarksville, and he was Secretary of the Texas Senate until accepting appointment as District Attorney of the first judicial district. In January 1840 he was named Judge of the sixth judicial district, which also made him an Associate Justice of the republic's Supreme Court, posts he held until resigning in 1841 to become District Attorney of the fifth district. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1842 to 1844, and was Speaker in his second term. With Texas now part of the United States, in 1851 he was the successful Democratic candidate in the special election for a seat in the US House of Representatives left vacant when David S. Kaufman died. He served the remainder of Kaufman's term, August 1851 to March 1853, and did not run for reelection in 1852, but was a Delegate to that year's Democratic national convention, afterwards practicing law in Hempstead. In 1859 he accidentally shot himself in the leg while hunting. At the start of the Civil War in 1861 he was appointed Adjutant on the staff of General Albert Sidney Johnston. In 1862 he underwent an operation on his wounded leg, which had never healed. Doctors decided to amputate, but Scurry did not regain his health and died at his Hempstead home. His son Thomas Scurry (1859-1911) served as Adjutant General of the Texas National Guard, and Richardson Scurry was the brother of Confederate General William Read Scurry (1821-1864). (bio by: Bill McKern)

3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Handbook of Texas Online
   "Scurry, Richardson A.".

   SCURRY, RICHARDSON A. (1811–1862). Richardson A. Scurry, lawyer, soldier, and politician, son of Thomas J. and Catherine (Bledsoe) Scurry, was born on November 11, 1811, in Gallatin, Tennessee. He was educated by private tutors and later studied law. About 1830 he was admitted to the bar and began practice in Covington, Tennessee. He moved to Texas early in 1836 and on March 10 joined the Texas army. He participated in the battle of San Jacinto as first sergeant in Isaac N. Moreland's company. When he resigned on October 4, 1836, he was a first lieutenant. He settled at Clarksville and resumed his law practice. Scurry was secretary of the Senate at the first session of the First Congress, which met from October 2 to December 22, 1836. President Sam Houston appointed him district attorney of the First Judicial District on December 19, 1836, and the Congress of the republic elected him judge of the Sixth Judicial District on January 20, 1840; this election automatically made him a member of the Texas Supreme Court. He resigned on February 5, 1841, to become district attorney of the Fifth Judicial District. At that time he was a law partner of his younger brother, William R. Scurry, at San Augustine. In 1843 R. A. Scurry married Evantha Foster of Waller County; they had nine children. Scurry was a member of the House of Representatives of the Seventh and Eighth congresses, 1842–44, and was speaker of the House of the Eighth, at which he represented San Augustine County. He was elected to the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second United States Congress on August 4, 1851. After March 3, 1853, he resumed his law practice in what was then Austin County, about one-half mile east of Hempstead. In August 1854 while hunting, Scurry accidentally shot himself. The wound never healed. In 1861 he was appointed adjutant general on the staff of Albert Sidney Johnston. Scurry eventually consented to an operation on his foot, and it was found necessary to amputate his leg. He never regained his health and died on April 9, 1862. He was buried at Hempstead.
   
   BIBLIOGRAPHY:
   
   Biographical Directory of the American Congress.
   Amelia W. Williams and Eugene C. Barker, eds., The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813–1863 (8 vols., Austin: University of Texas Press, 1938–43; rpt., Austin and New York: Pemberton Press, 1970).

4. ↑ Texas Tax List Index.
5.   United States. Congress (109th, 2005-2006). United States. Congress. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005.

   A Representative from Texas; born in Gallatin, Sumner County, Tenn., November 11, 1811; educated by private tutors; studied law; was admitted to the bar about 1830 and commenced practice in Covington, Tipton County, Tenn.; moved to Texas and settled in Clarksville, where he continued the practice of law; delegate to the State convention at Washington, Tex., which issued the Texas declaration of independence; a pioneer in the formation of State government; took an active part in the Texan War; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-second Congress (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1853); resumed the practice of law; died in Hempstead, Waller (formerly Austin) County, Tex., April 9, 1862; interment in Hempstead Cemetery.

6.   "Justices of Texas, 1836-1986".

   Richardson A. Scurry (1811-1862)
   
   Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, 1840-1841
   
   Richardson A. Scurry was born November 11, 1811 in Gallatin, Tennessee, the eldest of five children. His father was a lawyer, and Scurry apparently received a privately tutored education, after which he studied law under a Tennessee judge. He was admitted to the bar around 1830 and began practicing law in Covington, Tennessee.
   
   Like other young Tennesseans, Scurry was drawn by the promise of adventure to join a group of men headed to Texas to fight for Texas independence. He arrived in time to fight in the battle of San Jacinto and earned the rank of first lieutenant for his bravery and good conduct. When he left the Texas army in October 1836, he settled in Clarksville, practiced law, and served in various leadership roles in the Texas Republic.
   
   He was secretary of the Senate of the First Congress in the fall of 1836, and by the end of the first session that fall, President Sam Houston had appointed him district attorney of the First Judicial District. The Congress of the Republic elected him judge of the Sixth Judicial District on January 20, 1840, automatically making him an associate justice of the supreme court. He held the post until February 5, 1841, when he resigned to become district attorney of the Fifth Judicial District.
   
   In 1843 Scurry married; he fathered nine children. Following his marriage he served as a member of the House of Representatives of the Seventh and Eighth Congresses (1842-44), serving as speaker of the House of the Eighth, and was elected to the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second United States Congress in 1851. In 1853 he returned to law practice near Hempstead in Austin County. In 1861, Scurry was appointed adjutant general in the Confederate army.
   
   Scurry had accidentally shot himself while hunting in the summer of 1854; the wound had never healed, and eventually his leg was amputated. He never recovered from the surgery and died on April 9, 1862. He was buried at Hempstead.
   
   Notable opinions:
   
   Austin v. Sawyer, Dallam 445 (Tex. 1841) (affirming injunction against defendant for recovery of judgment upon finding that no lien existed since debt was discharged in administration of estate).
   
   Guest v. Guest, Dallam 394 (Tex. 1841) (awarding new trial to plaintiff on grounds that non-suit must be rendered by party bringing suit and thus cannot be compelled by the court).
   
   Knight v. Huff, Dallam 425 (Tex. 1841) (reversing judgment upon finding that offset in estate administration and cattle purchase claims should be allowed since conforms with intent of contracting parties).
   
   Sources:
   
   * Ericson, Joe E. Judges of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846) 252 (Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing Co., 1980).
   
   * Kemp, L. W. Scurry, Richardson A., Handbook of Texas Online (last updated June 6, 2001). http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsc36
   
   * Lynch, James Daniel. The Bench and Bar of Texas 178-182 (St. Louis, Missouri: Nixon-Jones Printing Co., 1885).
   
   University of Texas School of Law, Tarlton Law Library, Jmail Center for Legal Research