Deaf Smith

For the county named after him, see Deaf Smith County, Texas.
Deaf Smith
Deaf Smith
Born
Erastus Smith

(1787-04-19)April 19, 1787
Dutchess County, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 30, 1837(1837-11-30) (aged 50)
Richmond, Republic of Texas
Occupation(s)American frontiersman, Texas Revolution hero, Republic of Texas soldier, Texas Rangers
Spouse(s)Guadalupe Ruiz de Durán; 3 children & 4 stepchildren
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Erastus "Deaf" Smith (April 19, 1787 – November 30, 1837), who earned his nickname due to hearing loss in childhood, was an American frontiersman noted for his part in the Texas Revolution and the Army of the Republic of Texas. He fought in the Grass Fight and the Battle of San Jacinto. After the war, Deaf Smith led a company of Texas Rangers.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Deaf Smith as he appears at the Childress County Heritage Museum in Childress, Texas

Smith died in Richmond, Texas, aged 50, at the home of Randall Jones. The Episcopal churchyard has a modest marker, "Deaf Smith, the Texas Spy, Died Nov. 30, 1837", but his exact burial site is unknown.[7]

  1. ^ CUTRER, THOMAS W. (2010-06-15). "SMITH, ERASTUS [DEAF]". tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  2. ^ "Erastus Smith". www.gallaudet.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  3. ^ "SMITH, ERASTUS (DEAF)". San Jacinto Museum of History. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ ROELL, CRAIG H. (2010-06-12). "DEWITT'S COLONY". tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  5. ^ Barr (1990), p. 17.
  6. ^ Gannon, Jack. 1981. Deaf Heritage–A Narrative History of Deaf America, Silver Spring, MD: National Association of the Deaf, pp. 4-5 (PDF Archived March 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine)(PDF Archived March 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine)
  7. ^ "Unknown Grave of a Texas Spy". The Texian Gazette (Fort Bend Archeological Society) (4th Quarter 2017): 4–6. Retrieved November 28, 2017.