On this day in 1793, Sam Houston, one of the giants of Texas history was born.
He led a colorful life, as recounted here. He was a man of contradictions at times; I've blogged before about how he opposed the secession of Texas, maintaining a strong pro-Union stance.
At one point in his life, he lived among the Cherokee Indians, and maintained great sympathy with them, to the extent of marrying a Cherokee woman, although that marriage was not a lasting one.
If the south is Celtic and specifically Scots-Irish, then Houston is a typical Southerner, coming from Ulster Scots forbears. He was also a close friend of Andrew Jackson, another Ulster Scots descendant.
And speaking of ancestry, apparently Texas governor Rick Perry is a first cousin, six times removed, of Sam Houston. But according to these popular genealogy articles that are written about politicians, everybody is kin to everybody, and we are all one big happy diverse family. So take it with a grain of salt.
At times he was a controversial person, but always a strong personality, who left an imprint on history. Today's politicians seem to be pygmies compared to the likes of Sam Houston or any of the public figures of that era.
