Briscoe, Andrew, 1818-1849

Andrew Briscoe was born on November 25, 1810, in Claiborne County, Mississippi, to General Parmenas Briscoe and Polly Montgomery. He moved to Texas in 1833 and in 1835 established a store in Anahuac. He was arrested with DeWitt Clinton Harris for attempting to sell goods without paying customs duties. The incident and the resulting protests sparked the Texas Revolution. Although an elected delegate to the convention of 1835 and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Briscoe left on March 17 and rejoined the army under orders from Thomas J. Rusk. As captain he led the Liberty Volunteers at the battle of Concepcion, and Company A, Infantry Regulars at the Battle of San Jacinto.

After the Revolution, Briscoe was appointed chief justice of Harrisburg by President Sam Houston and served until 1839. He then became involved in raising cattle and business ventures in the town of Harrisburg. He was agent for the Harrisburg Town Company and owner of the Harrisburg and Brazos Railroad. The Harrisburg Railroad ＆ Trading Company assumed the Harrisburg and Brazos Railroad and was chartered in 1841. After grading 2 miles of track, the enterprise failed. In 1849 Briscoe moved his family to New Orleans where he engaged in banking. He died of yellow fever on October 4, 1849.

Andrew Briscoe married Elizabeth House and had a daughter, Elizabeth Zara ca. 1833. His daughter lived with her grandfather, General Parmenas Briscoe, and attended various boarding schools. Elizabeth Zara died of typhoid in 1848 in Kentucky. In 1837, Andrew married Mary Jane Harris, the Belle of Buffalo Bayou and daughter of John R. Harris, founder of Harrisburg, and Jane Birdsall Harris. They had five children, four of whom survived into adulthood: Parmenas (1839-1906), Andrew Birdsall (1841-1912), Jesse Wade (1845-1920), and Adele Lubbock (1848-1935).

From the guide to the Andrew Briscoe papers MC055. 50136914., 1828-1881, (Bulk: 1836-1849), (Albert and Ethel Herzstein Library, )