John York (officer)
John York (born July 4, 1800 in Kentucky , United States , † October 11, 1848 in Escondido Creek near Yorktown , DeWitt County , Texas ) was a captain in the Texas War of Independence , politician and farmer . In 1848 he founded the city of Yorktown named after him.
family
He was one of 10 children (2 brothers, 7 sisters) of James York and the NN. Allison . York married Letitia Crain (or Gain ) (* 1804 in Alabama, † July 12, 1851 in DeWitt County, Texas).
Life
York came to Texas with his family as early as 1821, where they settled in San Felipe ( Austin County ) in the area of what would later become Industry . Early on he took part in battles against the Indians . During the Texas War of Independence he was (from the "1835 Convention of" Representative Assembly ) in San Felipe to the First Lieutenant ( Lieutenant ) in the infantry of the Texas Army appointed.
After a few minor fights in which he could excel, he was promoted to captain. As the commander of his unit, he fought in the Battle of Bexar on May 5th – 10th. December 1835 against 1500 Mexicans under General Martín Perfecto de Cos , one of the hardest and most decisive battles in the Texas War of Independence. On 20 December 1835 he was a captain in the cavalry - Legion under Lieutenant Colonel ( Lt. Col. ) William Travis . He later fought the Indians in the Mill Creek area of Austin County and the Colorado River area .
Then York settled on Mill Creek as a farmer. In January 1837 he was sheriff of his county. In 1840 he was mentioned as the owner of a slave, 25 cattle and 20 work horses. In March 1844 he was one of six plenipotentiaries who were to determine the seat of the newly created DeWitt County on behalf of the Texas Congress ; In 1846 he was in this County for Commissioner elected in which he currently with his family at Coleto Creek had settled in an area that he had been left as thanks for his military service. From 1840 to 1848 he was the owner of the " Winedale Inn " (later " Wagner House ") in Round Top in neighboring Fayette County , whose interiors were decorated in the 1850s by the German painter Rudolph Melchior (1836-1867). This house can still be seen today in the museum village " Winedale Historical Center ".
York was very interested in the further settlement of his country, as he expected an increase in value. That's why he sold a large piece of land in 1848. The settlement established there was named Yorktown in his honor . At the beginning of October of the same year he was selected to join the fight against robbery and murderous Mexican Lipan Indians with forty of his neighbors, including Robert Justus Kleberg (1803-1888) and Albrecht von Roeder (1811-1857) of Coahuila in Mexico were sunken. In this fight York fell on October 11th together with his son-in-law John Madison Bell in the area of Escondido Creek, his son James York was wounded.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | York, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American officer, politician and farmer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th July 1800 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 11, 1848 |
| Place of death | near Yorktown , Texas |