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.

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