John Marie Durst
| John Marie Durst | |
|---|---|
John Marie Durst oil painting c1806
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| Born |
February 4, 1797 Arkansas Post |
| Died | February 9, 1851 (aged 54) Galveston, Texas |
| Resting place | Durst Cemetery Leon County, Texas 31°09′35″N 95°56′36″W / 31.15972°N 95.94333°WCoordinates: 31°09′35″N 95°56′36″W / 31.15972°N 95.94333°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Harriet Matilda Jamison Durst |
| Children | Louis Orlando (1827–1859) Mary Benigna (1830–1854) Charles Placide (1832–1905) Alexander H (1834–1840) Angelina Anna (1837–1841) Harriet Matilda (1839–1871) John Sterling (1841–1924) Horatio Walter (1844–1930) Clara Elizabeth (1846–1856) Eugene Marcelino (1849–1849) |
| Parent(s) | Jacob Durst Anna Agnes Schesser Durst |
John Marie Durst (1797–1851) was an early settler who lived most of his life in Louisiana and Texas. He was a multi-linguist who learned the mercantile trade from his godfather Peter Samuel Davenport. Durst was a veteran of the Battle of New Orleans. 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 of a ride he made in 1835 to warn of Mexican troop movements, some have labeled him the Paul Revere of Texas. Durst was a Captain in the Republic of Texas militia under Major General Thomas J. Rusk. He was the founder of the community of Mount Sterling, Texas in Nacogdoches County..
John Marie Durst was born in Arkansas Post on February 4, 1797. He was one of eight children, four boys and four girls, born to Jacob and Anna Agnes (Schesser) Durst. His brother John Isaac shared his first name. His father Jacob had been born in Shenandoah County, Virginia in 1754. Jacob's father Abraham Derst spelled the family name with an "e". Abraham Derst was born in Worms-Pfeddersheim, Germany in 1725, and became the family member who emigrated to Virginia. Abraham's father Abraham Jacob Derst was born and died in Germany. When John was two years old, his mother died. John's father Jacob Durst moved the entire family to in 1803.
In 1806, Jacob Durst moved to Nacogdoches, Texas with son John Marie and two of his brothers. Jacob died in 1814, and local merchant Peter Samuel Davenport, known to friends as Samuel, became John's godfather and legal guardian.
The other two sons had already reached adulthood. Nacogdoches merchants William Barr, Luther Smith, Edward Murphy and Davenport had established the mercantile House of Barr and Davenport in 1798. During Spanish Texas, the distribution center was an importer and exporter of merchandise between Louisiana and Texas, servicing both the Spanish troops and the area Indian tribes. Under Davenport's guardianship, the young Durst learned the mercantile trade and became fluent in several languages, including those of Indian tribes among whom the House of Barr and Davenport maintained resident traders. When the Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition captured Nacogdoches on August 12, 1812, Davenport became the quartermaster for the filibuster, supplying both arms and materiel, as well as rallying volunteers to join the cause. With the expedition defeated the next year, the Spanish government offered a reward for his capture. Davenport fled to , accompanied by Durst.
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