Alexander Calvit

Alexander Calvit (also known as Sandy Calvit) (1784–1836) was an early settler in colonial Texas and a sugar planter. His Evergreen Plantation lay where the town of Clute, Texas, was later built.

This article is about the early settler. For the Canadian actor, see Alexander Calvert.
Alexander Calvit
Born(1784-06-17)June 17, 1784
Spanish West Florida; later the Mississippi Territory
DiedJanuary 7, 1836(1836-01-07) (aged 51)
Brazoria County, Texas
OccupationSugar planter
Spouse(s)Barbara Mackall Wilkinson
ChildrenBarbara Mackall Wilkinson Calvit
RelativesJane Herbert Wilkinson Long (sister-in-law)
John Hunter Herndon (son-in-law)

Early life

Alexander Calvit was born on June 17, 1784, in what is now Mississippi,[1] which was then part of Spanish West Florida and in 1798 became the Mississippi Territory of the United States. He served as a First Lieutenant and aide-de-camp in the Creek War of 1813–1814.[2][3][4]

Career

He was one of the earliest settlers in Mexican Texas, going on Stephen F. Austin's mission.[5] As a member of the Old Three Hundred, in 1824 he received some land in what are now Brazoria and Waller Counties.[1][5] This included what is now known as Clute, Texas.[6]

He established the Evergreen Plantation, a sugar plantation in what later became known as Clute, Texas.[7][8]

Personal life

He married Barbara Mackall Wilkinson, sister of Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long, known as "the mother of Texas."[9][10] Their daughter, Barbara M. W. Calvit, married John Hunter Herndon, a lawyer and a planter.[5] When she inherited her father's plantation, they renamed it the Herndon Plantation and raised Arabian horses and cattle.[7][8]

Death

He died of pneumonia on January 7, 1836, at his home in Brazoria County[11] (then Brazoria District, Mexican Texas).

References
  1. "CALVIT, ALEXANDER," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fca22), accessed September 09, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  2. Eron Rowland, Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1921, Volume 4, p. 38
  3. John Francis Hamtramck Claiborne, Mississippi, as a Province, Territory, and State: With Biographical Notices of Eminent Citizens, Power & Barksdale, 1880, Volume 1, pp. 320; 329
  4. H. S. Halbert, T. H. Ball, The Creek War of 1813 and 1814, Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1995, p. 245
  5. C. Herndon Williams, Texas Gulf Coast Stories, The History Press, 2010, p. 78
  6. City of Clute, Texas: History
  7. C. Herndon Williams, True Tales of the Texas Frontier: Eight Centuries of Adventure and Surprise, The History Press, 2013.
  8. Diana J. Kleiner, "CALVIT-HERNDON PLANTATION," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/accgf), accessed September 09, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Modified on September 4, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  9. Neila Skinner Petrick, Jane Long of Texas, 1798-1880: A Biographical Novel of Jane Wilkinson Long of Texas : Based on Her True Story, Pelican Publishing, 2000, p. 89
  10. Mary Austin Holley, Mary Austin Holley: The Texas Diary, 1835-1838, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1965, p. 113
  11. Handbook of Texas Online, "Calvit, Alexander," accessed April 25, 2016, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fca22. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
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