John Marie Durst | |
|---|---|
 John Marie Durst oil painting c1806 | |
| Born | John Marie Durst February 4, 1797 |
| Died | February 9, 1851 (aged 54) |
| Resting place | Durst Cemetery Leon County, Texas 31°09′35″N 95°56′36″W / 31.15972°N 95.94333°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Harriet Matilda Jamison Durst |
| Children | 10 |
John Marie Durst (1797–1851) was born on the frontier in Arkansas, and was an early American settler, military veteran, and politician in Louisiana and Texas. As a youth, he learned the mercantile trade from his godfather Peter Samuel Davenport in Texas, where he also became fluent in several languages. French, Spanish and various Native American languages were spoken in this region in addition to English, reflecting its different colonial history. At the age of 18, Durst fought in the Battle of New Orleans with a Louisiana militia.
He was a legislative representative under Coahuila y Tejas, during which he became involved in a land speculation controversy. Durst became a large land holder, due in part to an inheritance from Davenport. Because he rode in 1835 to warn settlers of Mexican troop movements, when Texas was seeking independence, he is sometimes called the Paul Revere of Texas. Durst also served with the Republic of Texas militia under Major General Thomas J. Rusk in actions against the Kickapoo and Cherokee peoples in the region. He founded the settlement of Mount Sterling, Texas in Nacogdoches County after the Republic of Texas gained independence.