What a superb piece of Texasana. The present, attractive 1852 Bible belonged to important Texas pioneer and politician, George Washington Smyth, (1803–1866).
Born in North Carolina, and living in Alabama and Tennessee as a child, he moved to Texas in 1828, against the wishes of his parents. After briefly teaching school at Nacogdoches, he secured an appointment in 1830 as surveyor for Bevil's Settlement. He also served as land commissioner at Nacogdoches, and was later [1835] appointed first judge of Bevil Municipality.
Jasper Municipality elected him to the Convention of 1836 where he was signatory to the Texas Declaration of Independence. He raised men for the battle and he and his family took part in the Runaway Scrape. He was then appointed to the boundary commission to establish Texas-United States borders [1839], and elected to the Texas House of Representatives [1844]. An avid supporter of annexation, he helped draft the Constitution of 1845.
By the Civil War, he was one of the most respected men in Texas. He opposed secession because he thought it illegal, but once carried, he was a full supporter, his sons served as Confederate soldiers, and he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1866.
Final image is an original Texas state document with matching signature.
The Holy Bible. Containing the Old and New Testaments, Translated Out of the Original Tougues, and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, by His Majesty's Special Command. Appointed to be Read in Churches. Printed by Authority. London. William Collins, Paternoster Row. 1852.
A good + copy, bound in leather, generally solid, with generally bright pages and light foxing.
