Texas History Notebook

Jesse Robinson & Sally Scull

Jesse Robinson was born in Kentucky on February 11, 1800 to Charles Michael Robinson and Nancy Wood (or possibly Jannet Ray Robinson, as genealogy records differ). Jesse Robinson is rarely mentioned without reference to his first wife, Sally Newman, more famously known as Sally Scull, or Skull.

Sarah Ann Hardin-Kelton

There is a Texas Centennial historical marker honoring Sarah Hardin-Kelton. The text is spare and states, “Widow of William Hardin before her marriage to Dr. O. P. Kelton. Many of the Mexican officers and men were placed in the care of Judge and Mrs. Hardin after the victory at San Jacinto and were mercifully treated by them. Born August 27, 1806. Died.” (Punctuation added.) The marker is placed in South Belton Cemetery in Bell County, Texas. Her date of death was not entered on the marker and still appears to be unknown at this time.

Lawrence Sullivan “Sul” Ross

Sul Ross was born September 27, 1838 to Shapley Prince Ross and Catherine Hanby Fulkerson Ross in a family community in Iowa, then still a territory. He was the fourth of their eight children. Per Judith Ann Brenner’s fine biography, he was named for three family members including his great grandfather Lawrence Ross and an uncle in the Ross family named Giles Sullivan. As a child he was known as “Little Sul” and later just “Sul,” the nickname by which he became known. The biography notes that his great grandfather Lawrence had been captured by Indians from his Virginia school when he was six and lived with Cherokees until he was twenty-three and had to be persuaded to return to his family.

Andrew Jackson Houston

Margaret Moffett Lea Houston and Sam Houston were married on May 9, 1840. The couple had nine children: Sam Jr., Nancy Elizabeth, Margaret Lea, Mary William, Antoinette Power, Andrew Jackson, Louis, William Rogers and Temple Lea. Andrew Jackson Houston was born at Independence, Texas on June 21, 1854. He was named for Sam Houston’s friend and United States President Andrew Jackson whom he had known since the early 1800s. It was a way to honor his old friend who had died some nine years earlier in June of 1845.

William Gordon Cooke, Namesake of Cooke County

William Gordon Cooke is considered a hero of the Texas Revolution. He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia on March 26, 1808 to Adam G. Cooke and Martha Riddell Cooke, both of whom were Irish natives. William was the youngest of their three children. A daughter, Jane Oliver Cooke, died at sea around 1792, as the couple was on their voyage to America. Their first son James was born in Virginia and William was the youngest. James became a doctor. After completing his formal education, William moved to New Orleans where he was engaged in the drug business. There he became associated with the New Orleans Greys.