Thurmond, Columbus Lafayette, b. 1833

Born in Tennessee to John and Ann (Sturgis) Thurmond, Columbus Lafayette “Zip” Thurmond (b. 1833) joined his brother Alfred Sturgis Thurmond (1816-1873?) in Victoria, Texas, in the 1850s. In 1857, he married Maggie McGrew, with whom he had eleven children. Thurmond became a salesman for Jesse O. Wheeler and a businessman, operating a grocery store, general mercantile store, and ranch in Victoria, Goliad, and Brownsville. He also served as a U.S. marshal (1858-1861), Victoria County tax collector (1858-1865), and Victoria County sheriff (1874-1880; 1886-1892). With his son, C. L. Thurmond, Jr. in the 1850s, Thurmond established the land agent firm of Thurmond & Co., specializing in land location and recovery for out-of-state businessmen. The land agency became his primary focus after the Civil War, until his death, probably in the late 1890s or early 1900s.

Sources:

Columbus Lafayette Thurmond Papers, 1829-1918, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. Thurmond, Columbus Lafayette, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/fth39.html (accessed August 3, 2010).

Born in Tennessee to John and Ann (Sturgis) Thurmond, Columbus Lafayette "Zip" Thurmond (b. 1833) joined his brother Alfred Sturgis Thurmond (1816-1873?) in Victoria, Texas, in the 1850s.

In 1857, he married Maggie McGrew, with whom he had eleven children. Thurmond became a salesman for Jesse O. Wheeler and a businessman, operating a grocery store, general mercantile store, and ranch in Victoria, Goliad, and Brownsville. He also served as a U.S. marshal (1858-1861), Victoria County tax collector (1858-1865), and Victoria County sheriff (1874-1880; 1886-1892). With his son, C. L. Thurmond, Jr. in the 1850s, Thurmond established the land agent firm of Thurmond & Co., specializing in land location and recovery for out-of-state businessmen. The land agency became his primary focus after the Civil War, until his death, probably in the late 1890s or early 1900s.