A.T. Thurmond

Alfred Sturgis Thurmond

Full Name: Alfred Sturgis Thurmond
Date of birth: 1816
Date of death: January 1875

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
H 24 Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874 13th (1)   Democrat Rockport / Aransas   Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria
H 69 Aug 6, 1866 - Feb 7, 1870 11th (2) (3)     Refugio / Refugio   Goliad, Refugio, San Patricio

(1) Aransas county demarked from Refugio County on on April 18, 1871, Rockport designated as county seat of Aransas. Handbook of Texas Online.
(2) Roster of 11th Legislature, House of Representatives, "Texas Legislative Proceedings," 8/11/1866, p. 1. Galveston Daily News.
(3) By the Civil War Thumond moved back to Refugio County and established a ranch at Mesquite Landing. After the war he took the oath of amnesty and retired to his ranch. Handbook of Texas Online.

Terms of Service top

House District 24
Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874
Legislatures: 13th (1)  
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Rockport / Aransas
Counties in district: Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria
House District 69
Aug 6, 1866 - Feb 7, 1870
Legislatures: 11th (2) (3)  
Home City/County: Refugio / Refugio
Counties in district: Goliad, Refugio, San Patricio

(1) Aransas county demarked from Refugio County on on April 18, 1871, Rockport designated as county seat of Aransas. Handbook of Texas Online.
(2) Roster of 11th Legislature, House of Representatives, "Texas Legislative Proceedings," 8/11/1866, p. 1. Galveston Daily News.
(3) By the Civil War Thumond moved back to Refugio County and established a ranch at Mesquite Landing. After the war he took the oath of amnesty and retired to his ranch. Handbook of Texas Online.

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • Memorial of Mrs. Julia Thurmond, widow of the late Alfred S. Thurmond, relating to property of Shell Bank Island, in Aransas county, granted by the Legislature to her deceased husband on 5/16/1873, 15th Legislature, R.S., 69th Day, 7/8/1876, p. 479. Senate Journal.

Biographical Sketches

  • Biographical sketch, Major Alfred S. Thurmond, p. 583. Served in the legislature of 1866 and 1873; Thurmond's vessel was lost at sea after 1/8/1876, when he left Rockport for Tuxpan, Mexico. The Encyclopedia of the New West, 1881.
  • Alfred Sturgis Thurmond (1816-January 1876), includes partial biographical sketch in Frontier Times, August 1939, p. 472, Houston Wade, in "Notes and Fragments of the Mier Expedition." Find a Grave.
  • THURMOND, ALFRED STURGIS (1816-1873?). Born 1816 in Tennessee. "The sailing boat on which he was a passenger bound for Tuxpan was lost at sea, probably late in 1873." Handbook of Texas Online.
  • Mentioned in biographical sketch of his brother, Columbus Lafayette Thurmond. Pulaski Thurmond died in Halletsville in 1880 from "the kick of a horse," pp. 100-101. Memorial and Genealogical Record of Texas: Containing Biographical Histories and Genealogical Records of Many Leading Men and Prominent Families, 1894.
  • Biographical sketch, Alfred Sturgis Thurmond, "Notes and Fragments of the Mier Expedition," The La Grange Journal, 6/22/1939, p. 8, crediting Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives. "Alfred Sturgis Thurmond was born in Rutherford, Gibson county, Tennessee, in the year 1815, not 1816 as is usually given by historians." Quoting Alexander W. Terrell, "From Texas to Mexico and the Court of Maximilian in 1865": "Capt. Alf. Thurman, of Tom Green's brigade in our Civil War, was one of the Mier Prisoners and was chained to Cameron. In 1867, he was shipwrecked and drowned en route for South America." Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Military Service Notes

  • Chronicle of military service as Texas volunteer and on the frontier, the battle of Salado, and the Mier and Somervell expeditions. Confederate Army, Captain and Major in New, Texas, and Louisiana. Major Alfred S. Thurmond, p. 583. The Encyclopedia of the New West, 1881.
  • Private in ranger company, September-December 1836. Served in Ewen Cameron's ranger company, in the battle of Salado Creek and Mier expedition in 1842, then captured and held at Perote Prison until 1844. Confederate States Army, Thomas Green's brigade. Handbook of Texas Online.

Other Resources

  • Birth 1815; death, at sea, January 1876. FamilySearch.
  • Old Alf. Thumond quoted in brief article on the nomination of German democrat, 11/8/1873, p. 5. Galveston Daily News.
  • "John Hermodius Thurmond in Texas 1840s," message posted by Frank Richard Brown, 1/15/2004. Genealogy.com, 2004.
  • Death date estimated to be in January 1875 based on newspaper clippings of Thurmond's sea voyage. "Capt. A.S. Thurmond left on Tuesday for Tuxpan, on a prospecting tour . . . ," "Texas Items," Aransas County, The Galveston Daily News, 1/21/1875, p. 2. crediting Abilene Library Consortium. "The schooner Morning Star left Rockport on the 8th of last January [1875] for Tuxpan, Mexico, having on board a number of passengers, among whom was our old friend Captain A.S. Thurmond, and as there has been nothing heard from the schooner since her departure, it is feared she is lost." "State News," Victoria County, The Galveston Daily News, 3/31/1875, p. 2. Crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). January 21, 1875 March 31, 1875
  • John Green Thurmond / Anna Louisa Sturges (F1439) family group sheets. Relatives:
    George Murat Thurmond [I] - grandfather; Roger Harold Thurmond, Jr. and George Murat Thurmond [II] - grandsons.
    George Murat Thurmond [I], Pulaski Adolphus Thurmond, and Alfred Sturgis Thurmond - brothers.
    Pulaski Adolphus Thurmond and Alfred Sturgis Thurmond - uncles; Roger Harold Thurmond, Sr. - nephew.
    Pulaski Adolphus Thurmond and Alfred Sturgis Thurmond - great uncles; Roger Harold Thurmond, Jr. and George Murat Thurmond [II] - great nephews. Strong McLemore Genealogy, 2006. Capt. Alfred Sturgis Thurmond Columbus Lafayette "Zip" Thurmond, Sr. George Murat Thurmond [II] George Murat Thurmond [I] Pulaski Adolphus Thurmond Roger Harold Thurmond, Sr. Thurmond family group sheet
  • Relatives: George M. Thurmond (54th Legislature) is a descendant of Alfred Sturgis Thurmond (11th and 13th Legislatures). "George M. Thurmond, Del Rio, can date his family's part in the Texas story back to Alfred Sturgis Thurmond, who served in the Rangers along the very same frontier where the solon now lives." Curtis Bishop, "Historic Names in the 54th: Descendants of many who made early Texas history carry on family traditions of service to their State as members of the 54th Legislature," Volume XVI, Number 1, June 1955, pp. 37, 38, 40. Texas Parade.

Photographs

  • Photograph. A.T. Thurmond, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
  • Photograph. A.T. Thurmond, 13th Legislature, State Preservation Board
  • Photograph. A.S. Thurmond, 11th Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

Committee Information top

13th R.S. - 1873
Agriculture and Stock Raising (Chair) 
Military Affairs  
Privileges and Elections  
Redistricting  
11th R.S. - 1866
Agriculture and Stock Raising  
Finance  
General Land Office, Select  
Judicial Districts, Select  
Penitentiary, Select  

This website is a work in progress. Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.

Party information is not available for the 1st-11th Legislatures.

Have a question, comment or contribution? Email the Library or call 512-463-1252.

Many photos in Texas Legislators: Past and Present are used with permission of the Texas State Preservation Board. For permission to reproduce these photos, please contact the Texas State Preservation Board graphics coordinator at 512-475-3060.