Richard Andrews, Andrews County and Andrews, Texas

Andrews, Texas is located in far West Texas.  If you hold your right hand up and imagine that this part of Texas is represented by your thumb and forefinger, Andrews County would be where your thumb and forefinger come together.  The town of Andrews is the county seat and just about the lone survivor of a number of small communities that were born and died out since around 1890 when settlers first began to come to the area.

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José Antonio Navarro

José Antonio Navarro was the son of Angel Navarro of Corsica, the Mediterranean island south of Spain, and Josefa Maria Ruiz y Peña. He was born in 1795 in San Antonio de Béxar. He, like many other Tejano residents of the area, opposed the rule of Santa Anna. He married Margarita de la Garza in 1825 and together they would have seven children.

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Henry Karnes, Karnes City and Karnes County

Henry Wax Karnes was a soldier in the Texas Revolution and later was a Texas Ranger.  He was born in Tennessee in 1812 and grew up in Arkansas. He first came to Texas on a visit in 1828 and later returned for good in 1835 when he enlisted in the army under Captain John York.  One of the first battles he is known to have participated in was the Battle of Concepción (on the grounds of Mission Concepción) and later in the Siege of Bexar.  He was also associated with Erastus “Deaf” Smith and is thought to be the first to deliver the news to Sam Houston of the fall of the Alamo mission to Santa Anna.

concepcionmission

(Mission Concepción)

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Irion County, Texas

Irion County is situated west of San Angelo (Tom Green County) in West Texas.  Its county seat is Mertzon.  It is sparsely populated but the origin of its name extends back to the early days of the Republic of Texas.  It was founded in 1889 and was named for Robert Anderson Irion, a medical doctor.  Dr. Irion was a friend and personal physician of Sam Houston.

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