Smith, Henry

Henry Smith (1788-1851), the first governor of Texas, was born in Kentucky and moved to Brazoria County, Texas, in 1827. He was severely wounded in the battle of Velasco, 1832. In 1833 Smith was elected magistrate of Brazoria and appointed a delegate to the Convention of 1833. The governor of Coahuila and Texas designated him political chief of the department of the Brazos in 1834. An avid force for Texas independence, Smith served on the Columbia committee of safety and correspondence and was a delegate to the Consultation, 1835. Later that same year he was elected first governor of Texas, but due to various conflicts, the council impeached him in 1836. His break from politics was short-lived, as he was on the ballot for the presidency in 1836, though he supported Sam Houston in the election. Smith served as secretary of the treasury during Houston’s presidency. From the 1830s to 1840 Smith worked as a land developer along the Gulf Coast near Aransas Bay. He then served in the House of Representatives, 1840, where he was known for his work as chairman of the committee on finance. After his one term in Congress, Smith retired, and in 1849 traveled to California to pan for gold. He died at a mining camp near Los Angeles in 1851.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. Smith, Henry, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsm23.html (accessed July 28, 2010).