As a history buff, its nice to learn that our relatives had a place in Texas History:
Elijah Gossett & His Sons
In 1833 Elijah Gossett and his entire family moved to Texas. The trip took 2 months and during that time, when they were camped in Arkansas, a huge meteor shower, known as "the Night the Stars Fell" occurred.
They settled in what was then Nacogdoches County, a procession of Mexico.
Nacogdoches County became Houston County when Elijah and his sons donated land to provide for a county seat. They changed the name to Houston County, in honor of Sam Houston a former governor of Tennessee (their home state) and the first President of the Republic of Texas.
The county Seat was named Crockett in honor of Davy Crockett, a childhood friend from Tennessee.
The Elijah Gossett home was located on the Hurricane Bayou about 5 miles northwest of the city of Crockett and is the oldest home in Houston County being built in 1835.
Col. Davy Crockett visited the Gossetts' in 1836 while on his way to the Alamo.
Soon after moving to Texas, Elijah Gossett and three of his sons (James Lockridge, Andrew Edwards and John Van Dyke) served in the Texas Revolution as Volunteers under Capt. William Spurlock and Brigadier General Thomas J. Rusk.
After Texas became a Republic they all four joined Capt. Elisha Clapps Company of "Texas Rangers" and served on the frontier.
Elijah Gossett was elected Chief Justice (County Judge) of Houston County in 1841 and was one of the eleven trustees appointed for Trinity College, which was first established at Alabama in Houston County by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas in Congress assembled January 30, 1841.
While on a business trip to Van Zandt County, TX where owned land, Elijah Gossett became ill and died on November 24th, 1848. His body was returned to Crockett in an ox wagon and he is buried in the old Glenwood Cemetery, City of Crockett, Houston County, TX.
