Smyth, George Washington, 1803-1866

George Washington Smyth (1803-1866), congressman and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and Constitution, was born in North Carolina as eldest son of Andrew and Susannah Smyth. In 1827 or 1828, George came to Texas and in 1830 settled in Bevil’s Settlement (near present-day Jasper), where he married Frances M. Grigsby (1809-1888) in 1834. The couple had seven children, including George Washington, Jr.

The Mexican government appointed Smyth as a surveyor, then as a commissioner of titles to issue titles to colonists entitled to Mexican land grants. He served as delegate from Jasper to the Convention of 1836 and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.

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