Alexander Calvit (1784–1836) was an early settler in colonial Texas and a sugar planter. His Evergreen Plantation lay where the town of Clute, Texas, was later built.

Alexander Calvit
Born(1784-06-17)June 17, 1784
DiedJanuary 7, 1836(1836-01-07) (aged 51)
Brazoria District, Mexican Texas (now Brazoria County, Texas, U.S.)
OccupationSugar planter
SpouseBarbara Mackall Wilkinson
Children1
RelativesJane Herbert Wilkinson Long (sister-in-law)
John Hunter Herndon (son-in-law)

Early life

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Calvit was born on June 17, 1784, in what is now Mississippi,[1] which was then part of Spanish West Florida and in 1798 became the Mississippi Territory of the United States. He served as a First Lieutenant and aide-de-camp in the Creek War of 1813–1814.[2][3][4]

Career

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He was one of the earliest settlers in Mexican Texas, going on Stephen F. Austin's mission.[5] As a member of the Old Three Hundred, in 1824 he received some land in what are now Brazoria and Waller Counties.[1][5] This included what is now known as Clute, Texas.[6]

He established the Evergreen Plantation, a sugar plantation in what later became known as Clute, Texas.[7][8]

Personal life

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He married Barbara Mackall Wilkinson, sister of Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long, known as "the mother of Texas."[9][10] Their daughter, Barbara, married John Hunter Herndon, a lawyer and a planter.[5] When she inherited her father's plantation, they renamed it the Herndon Plantation and raised Arabian horses and cattle.[7][8]

Death

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Calvit died of pneumonia on January 7, 1836, aged 51, at his home in Brazoria County (then Brazoria District, Mexican Texas).[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "CALVIT, ALEXANDER," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fca22), accessed September 09, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  2. ^ Eron Rowland, Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1921, Volume 4, p. 38 [1]
  3. ^ John Francis Hamtramck Claiborne, Mississippi, as a Province, Territory, and State: With Biographical Notices of Eminent Citizens, Power & Barksdale, 1880, Volume 1, pp. 320; 329 [2]
  4. ^ H. S. Halbert, T. H. Ball, The Creek War of 1813 and 1814, Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1995, p. 245 [3]
  5. ^ a b c C. Herndon Williams, Texas Gulf Coast Stories, The History Press, 2010, p. 78 [4]
  6. ^ City of Clute, Texas: History, ci.clute.tx.us. Accessed March 21, 2024.
  7. ^ a b C. Herndon Williams, True Tales of the Texas Frontier: Eight Centuries of Adventure and Surprise, The History Press, 2013. [5]
  8. ^ a b Diana J. Kleiner, "CALVIT-HERNDON PLANTATION", Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed September 9, 2014. Uploaded June 12, 2010. Modified September 4, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  9. ^ Neila Skinner Petrick, Jane Long of Texas, 1798-1880: A Biographical Novel of Jane Wilkinson Long of Texas: Based on Her True Story, Pelican Publishing, 2000, p. 89 [6]
  10. ^ Mary Austin Holley: The Texas Diary, 1835-1838, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1965, p. 113 [7]
  11. ^ Handbook of Texas Online: "Calvit, Alexander". Accessed April 25, 2016. Uploaded June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.