Mathew Caldwell
| Matthew Caldwell | |
|---|---|
Monument at the gravesite of Matthew Caldwell.
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| Born |
March 8, 1798 Kentucky |
| Died | December 28, 1842 (aged 44) Gonzales, Texas |
| Resting place | Gonzales City Cemetery 29°30′38.7″N 97°27′0.5″W / 29.510750°N 97.450139°WCoordinates: 29°30′38.7″N 97°27′0.5″W / 29.510750°N 97.450139°W |
| Monuments | 1930 State Grave Monument, 1936 Texas Hall of State Building facade, 1936 Caldwell County centennial pink granite marker, 1976 Caldwell County Courthouse marker |
| Residence | Gonzales, Texas Co-founder of Seguin, Texas |
| Nationality | Texian |
| Spouse(s) | Hannah Morrison |
| Children | Three |
Matthew Caldwell, (March 8, 1798 – December 28, 1842), also spelled Matthew Caldwell was a 19th-century Texas settler, military figure, Captain of the Gonzales – Seguin Rangers and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Because of his recruitment ride ahead of the Battle of Gonzales, some have called him the Paul Revere of Texas.
Matthew Caldwell nicknamed "Old Paint" was born in Kentucky on March 8, 1798. He moved to Missouri with his family in 1818, where he traded, fought and learned the ways of the Indians. He, wife and family, arrived in Texas in the Green DeWitt Colony on February 20, 1831. On June 22, 1831, he received the title to a parcel of land near the Zumwalt Settlement, southwest of current Hallettsville, Texas. Settling in Gonzales, Caldwell acquired the original James Hinds residence on Water Street and soon became a person of notoriety, involved in security and command of minutemen rangers in Gonzales and the surrounding areas.
Actively recruiting before the battle of Gonzales in October 1835, he rode from Gonzales to Mina informing colonists of the dire need of their support in the volunteer army. Because of this, some have called him the Paul Revere of Texas. As a participant at the battle, he would serve as a scout and mediator. On Nov. 3, 1835, the delegates of the citizens of Texas established the provisional Texas government by the Consultation of 1835. The Consultation authorized the recruitment of 25 Rangers and later was increased to three companies of 56 men each. Caldwell was appointed a subcontractor to the Texian Army by the Provisional Government of Texas, to supply and administer a volunteer army at the siege of Bexar and the Alamo.
On 1 February 1836, he and John Fisher were elected delegates from Gonzales to the Texas Independence Convention of 1836 at Washington on the Brazos and both were signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, on March 2. The convention appointed a committee of three, of which Caldwell was a member, to assess the situation of the enemy on the frontier and the condition of the Texian army. They then dispatched couriers with the message of independence and Caldwell went along with them, paying close attention to the state of the new republic as they passed through numerous settlements.
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Wikipedia