David G. Burnet
(1788-1870)
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Best remembered as the
President of the ad interim government of the Republic of Texas, David
Burnet first entered Texas about 1815. Except for a few brief periods
outside the region, Texas remained his home until his death in 1870. Born April 14, 1788 in New Jersey, Burnet was raised by an older brother after the early death of his parents. In 1806, he became the first American volunteer to join Francisco de Miranda in an unsuccessful expedition to free Venezuela from Spain. Later, after a failed attempt to establish a trading post in Natchitoches, Louisiana, Burnet rode westward into Texas. |
After an accident in which Burnet fell from his horse on the upper Colorado River, he was taken by Comanche Indians, treated kindly, and nursed back to health over a two year period.
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