George Wilkins Kendall
| George Wilkins Kendall | |
|---|---|
| Born |
George Wilkins Kendall August 22, 1809 Mont Vernon, New Hampshire |
| Died | October 21, 1867 (aged 58) Boerne, Texas |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Resting place | Boerne Cemetery |
| Known for |
War correspondent Pioneer Texas sheep ranching |
| Spouse(s) | Adeline Suzanne de Valcourt |
| Children | Four |
George Wilkins Kendall (1809–1867) was a journalist, war correspondent, and pioneer Texas sheepman, known as the father of the Texas sheep business. Kendall County, Texas is named for him. Kendall was given a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989, Marker number 2169.
George Wilkins Kendall was born on August 22, 1809, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, to Puritan parents, Captain Thaddeus Kendall and his wife Abigail Wilkins Kendall. His immediate family drifted from one location to another. George eventually went to Amherst, New Hampshire, to live with his grandfather Samuel Wilkins.
Kendall learned printing as a youth at Burlington, Vermont. He began earning his own living at age 14, working in Washington, D.C., and in New York City for Horace Greeley. In 1825, Kendall apprenticed at the Amherst Herald, and in 1832 he wrote for the Mobile Alabama Register. In 1837, Kendall and Francis Lumsden established the The New Orleans Picayune, which initially sold for the 6 1/4 cent Spanish coin. By 1838, the paper had extended its coverage to the Republic of Texas. Kendall and Lumsden began a pony express to link the paper to other newspapers in the East.
Kendall traveled to the Republic of Texas in 1841 and joined the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, which had been initiated by the republic's President Mirabeau B. Lamar in order to gain control over the Santa Fe Trail and to secure Texas claims to New Mexico. The expedition turned to disaster, and near present-day Tucumcari, New Mexico, the men surrendered to the Mexican military. The prisoners were marched 2,000 miles to Mexico City and confined in a leper colony, with Kendall suffering smallpox. Kendall posted detailed letters during his imprisonment, twenty-three of which were subsequently published in the The Picayune over a period of a year. Kendall was released in 1842, as a result of intervention by influential friends. In 1844, he published a 900-page book, Narrative of an Expedition Across the Great Southwestern Prairies, from Texas to Santa Fé, which sold 40,000 copies over eight years.
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