H.R. No. 180
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Winlow Place Civic Club and the Harris County
Historical Commission are dedicating a historical marker at Sidney
Lanier Middle School in Houston on September 10, 2011, in memory of
Texas pioneer Obedience Fort Smith; and
WHEREAS, Born in 1771, Mrs. Smith was the daughter of Sarah
Suggs Fort and Elias Fort, a leading Particular Baptist deacon in
North Carolina and later in Tennessee; she married David Smith in
1791, and the couple had 11 children, though only 4 survived their
parents; the family lived in Kentucky and later in Mississippi,
where David Smith passed away in 1835; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Smith subsequently followed her son, Benjamin
Fort Smith, to Texas, where he was an adjutant to General Sam
Houston; arriving just weeks before Texas declared its
independence, she received a land grant two years later for
thousands of acres of what is now the west side of Houston, and the
titles of many properties in the city still cite the Obedience Smith
survey; and
WHEREAS, A founder of the First Baptist Church of Houston in
1841, Mrs. Smith was also the matriarch of a family that left its
mark on Texas history in many ways; her family members and
descendants include judges John W. N. A. Smith and T. B. J. Hadley,
Mississippi governor and Texas state senator Hiram George Runnels,
Civil War colonels Benjamin Franklin Terry and Thomas Saltus
Lubbock, suffragist and Texas Women's Press Association founder
Aurelia Mohl, first librarian of the Houston Lyceum Margaret
Foster, and a founder of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Mabel
Smith-Astin; Mrs. Smith passed away in 1847; and
WHEREAS, The installation of this historical marker
acknowledges the unique role that Obedience Smith played in the
history of Texas and of its largest city, and it helps ensure that
the story of this remarkable woman will be preserved for
generations to come; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commemorate the dedication
of a historical marker in memory of Obedience Fort Smith and extend
to all those taking part in the ceremony sincere best wishes for a
meaningful and memorable event.
S. Davis of Harris
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 180 was adopted by the House on June
27, 2011, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House