Chrisman, John H., 1821-1922

Born in Charleston, Indiana, John H. Chrisman (1821-1922) moved with his parents to Illinois when he was at the age of one. In 1846, he sought to move to Texas with his wife, Samantha Minnis, and two children. En route to Texas, Chrisman’s wife died in Arkansas. Chrisman left his children briefly in Arkansas and returned to Illinois, where he married Sarah Mitchell, with whom he later had nine children. After reclaiming his children from Arkansas, Chrisman arrived with his family in Fort Gates, Texas, on April 4, 1854. Chrisman surveyed and settled in the town of Gatesville, and also created a plot map of Coryell County. As an involved member of his community, he built the first jail in the county and served as justice of peace from 1855 to 1861. Chrisman engaged in a number of trades, including selling dry goods and groceries from Houston, transporting mail between Comanche and Gatesville in 1858, and driving a herd of cattle to Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1859. During the Civil War, he joined the Frontier Regiment composed of Texas Rangers and Confederate soldiers, which protected the western frontier from Native American depredations. Following his service in the regiment, Chrisman returned to Gatesville and practiced law until his death in 1922.

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