Neighbors, Robert Simpson, 1815-1859

Indian agent.

Born in Virginia, Indian agent Robert Simpson Neighbors (1815-1859) arrived in Texas in 1836. He enlisted in the Texas Army, attaining the rank of captain and title of acting quartermaster. Joining the Texas Rangers, Neighbors served under John C. Hays, when General Adrián Woll imprisoned the company in Mexico in 1842. Following his release to Texas, Neighbors became an Indian agent in 1845 and transitioned the office from the practice of waiting for Native Americans, as was the agency’s routine, to visiting them in their territories. After the annexation of Texas, Neighbors served the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs from 1847 through 1849. He then served as a Texas commissioner (1850) and state legislator (1851-1853). Additionally, in 1851, he married Elizabeth Ann Mays, with whom he had two sons. Returning to the Indian Bureau in 1853, he and U.S. Army captain Randolph B. Marcy explored northwest Texas for possible Native American reservation sites. Despite receiving many threats for his work with the tribes, Neighbors survived until 1859, when he was murdered by Edward Cornett, a man with whom he was not acquainted.

Source:

Richardson, Rupert N. Neighbors, Robert Simpson. Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed February 15, 2011. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fne08 .

Born in Virginia, Indian agent Robert Simpson Neighbors (1815-1859) arrived in Texas in 1836.

He enlisted in the Texas Army, attaining the rank of captain and title of acting quartermaster. Joining the Texas Rangers, Neighbors served under John C. Hays, when General Adrián Woll imprisoned the company in Mexico in 1842. Following his release to Texas, Neighbors became an Indian agent in 1845 and transitioned the office from the practice of waiting for Native Americans, as was the agency's routine, to visiting them in their territories. After the annexation of Texas, Neighbors served the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs from 1847 through 1849. He then served as a Texas commissioner (1850) and state legislator (1851-1853). Additionally, in 1851, he married Elizabeth Ann Mays, with whom he had two sons. Returning to the Indian Bureau in 1853, he and U.S. Army captain Randolph B. Marcy explored northwest Texas for possible Native American reservation sites. Despite receiving many threats for his work with the tribes, Neighbors survived until 1859, when he was murdered by Edward Cornett, a man with whom he was not acquainted.