Feris family.

George Achille Feris, born to first-generation European immigrants in 1817 in Kentucky, was a Texas physician who practiced medicine in Fort Bend County before and after the Civil War. Feris graduated from the Military School of Georgetown, Kentucky, and received his M.D. from Transylvania Medical College in Lexington, Kentucky. He moved to Texas from Missouri in 1835. In January 1841 he married Lavinia Thompson (1819-1886), an Alabama native whose father was one of the original three hundred Austin colonists. Lavinia and two other women were present at the fight at Thompson's Ferry, braving grape and canister shot to saddle the horses of the men escaping from Santa Anna. George joined the Texas army in 1836, and fought numerous battles against the American Indians. He was also a surgeon with the Texas Rangers at the Battle of Plum Creek and the Council House fight in San Antonio in 1838. During the Mexican War, he again served as a military surgeon at the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterrey. He was also present in the battle of San Jacinto. He briefly resigned his commission and served as a doctor in Galveston before relocating permanently to Richmond, Texas. When the Civil War began, Governor Francis R. Lubbock appointed Feris hospital surgeon to the Confederate Army. In 1863 he was captured by Federal troops, but was exchanged and returned to Confederate service. He was a notable physician, as evidenced by his appointment as a Trustee to Texas Medical College and Hospital, which later became the University of Texas Medical Branch. In addition to his medical practice, Feris was known throughout the South for his deep interest in and knowledge of horses. He traded horses and advocated for equestrian interests through the organization of jockey clubs and fairs, even drawing up the first constitution of the Houston Jockey Club. He was also prominent in financial circles. His wit and scholarship earned him a reputation as an intellectual. He died on April 8, 1898.

George and Lavinia Feris had nine children between 1841 and 1858, seven of whom survived to adulthood: Irene Feris Hocker (1841-1920), Achille Feris (1843-1878), Yandell Feris (1847-1895), Sarah (Sallie) Lavinia Feris (1852-1943), George A. Feris, Jr (1855-death unknown), Mary Elizabeth Feris Bass (1856-1926), and Keene Richards Feris (1858-death unknown).

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