James Grant (Texas)
| James Grant | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 28, 1793 Ross-shire, Scotland |
| Died | March 2, 1836 (aged 42) Agua Dulce, Nueces County, Texas |
| Allegiance |
 Republic of Texas
|
| Service/branch |
Texian Army
|
| Years of service | 1835-36 |
| Rank | Private Co-commander |
| Battles/wars | |
James Grant (1793–1836) was a 19th-century Texas politician, physician and military participant in the Texas Revolution.
James Grant was born on July 28, 1793, in Ross-shire, Scotland, son of William Grant. His paternal grandfather, Alexander Grant, was a veteran of the battle of Culloden of 1746 who later became a director of the East India Company and was the last man to escape from the Black Hole of Calcutta.
Grant attended medical school, and in 1812 he joined the East India Company. Despite his young age, with the influence of his cousin Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg, he was named the surgeon for the General Stuart. Just before leaving on his maiden voyage, Grant married Margaret Urquhart, the daughter of an East India Company official.
Over the next seven years, Grant made three voyages with the East India Company to India and to China. In a brief visit home, he fathered a son, Stewart Majoribanks, who was born in 1817. His daughter Jamesina was born five years later. On his voyages, Grant, like most of his comrades, did a little trading of his own, resulting in a respectable fortune.
In 1823, he traveled to northern Mexico, ending up in Texas. He became interested in real estate and purchased an estate in Parras, Coahuila, Mexico in 1825. In Coahuila, he was soon involved in politics, where he became secretary of the Executive Council. In 1832, he was a member of the legislature of Coahuila and Texas.
In 1832 and 1833, he tried his hand in colonizing a settlement near Goliad. In 1833, Grant moved to Nacogdoches, Texas. From March through April, 1835, Grant was secretary of the legislature of Coahuila and Texas at Monclova, Mexico. In Coahuila, he acquired vast landholdings and was friends to the Federalist Mexicans and enemies to the Centralists. In 1834 and 1835 he was "Jefe de Armas" or Commander of the local military police. In the spring of 1836, Grant and the Mexican legislators were forced to flee Coahuila when President Santa Anna sent General Martín Perfecto de Cos with a regiment of the Mexican army to disperse the congress.
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