Joshua Hadley (c.1785–1845) was an American

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

and

public official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

. He participated in the

Convention of 1832 The Convention of 1832 was the first political gathering of colonists in Mexican Texas. Delegates sought reforms from the Mexican government and hoped to quell the widespread belief that settlers in Texas wished to secede from Mexico. The conventio ...

and 1835 Consultation.

Life

He was born c1785 in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

to Benjamin Hadley (son of Thomas Jefferson Hadley), and Elizabeth King. The couple lived in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, before moving to what is now

San Augustine County, Texas San Augustine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,918. Its county seat is San Augustine. History San Augustine County was formed in 1837. It was supposedly named after Saint Augu ...

in 1830. On May 7, 1831 he was the recipient of a league of land that stood to the north-east of

Anderson, Texas Anderson is a city and county seat of Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 193 as of the 2020 census. The town and its surroundings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Anderson Historic District. T ...

. He constructed a fort, known locally as the ''Hadley Fort'' to protect the family against Native American attacks. The fort was the site of an Indian raid in 1840 which saw a woman

scalped Scalping is the act of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, from the head, and generally occurred in warfare with the scalp being a trophy. Scalp-taking is considered part of the broader cultural practice of the taki ...

. During the

, Hadley represented the District of Viesca. In 1835 he was elected

Alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

. Hadley also served in the

Army of the Republic of Texas The Texas Army, officially the Army of the Republic of Texas, was the land force branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Army, which was established in October 1835 to fight for independence ...

in 1836. Due to his military service, he was gifted land in Grimes County, totalling 320 acres. Throughout his life, he married twice, firstly to Obedience Grantham, with whom he had five children, and secondly the widowed Joyce Voilet Bostick McGuffin.

Death

Hadley died in 1845 after falling from his horse.

References

1780s births 1845 deaths Convention of 1832 delegates Army of the Republic of Texas personnel American emigrants to Mexico {{Texas-bio-stub Accidental deaths in Texas Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States

Life

Death

See also

References