Early Life
Smith was born the tenth and last child of James and Magdalen (Woods) Smith of Kentucky. At the age of 21, he became a merchant in Nashville, Tennessee, and married. Moving from place to place, he was ultimately attracted by land grants offered by the Mexican government and took his family to Brazoria County, Texas, in 1827. There he worked his lands, taught school, and did some surveying.
Becoming involved in politics, Smith was wounded in the 1832 Battle of Velasco. Elected alcalde of Brazoria in 1833, he was soon chosen a delegate to the Convention of 1833. In 1834, he was appointed by the Mexican governor as political chief of the department of the Brazos.
Read more about this topic: Henry Smith (Texas Governor)
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)