Starting October 7, the San Jacinto Monument's Observation Floor will close for renovation, open on weekends, with discounted museum admission during this time.

Part of an old map of the San Jacinto area from the Texas Revolution

Veteran Bio

Texian Location:  Participant

The Kemp Sketch

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CRAWFORD, ROBERT -- Born in Abbeville County, South Carolina, in 1815. He came to Texas in January, 1836, as is stated in the Headright Certificate issued to him February 1, 1838, for one-third of a league of land by the Washington County Board. On a muster roll at the General Land Office he is shown as having enlisted in the Volunteer Auxiliary Corps at Nacogdoches, January 14, 1836. He next joined the company of Captain Peyton B. Splane. Most of the men of this company remained at the camp opposite Harrisburg, but Mr. Crawford took part in the battle as a member of Captain Robert J. Calder's "Brazoria Company." He was issued Bounty Certificate No. 2008 for 320 acres of land for having served in the army from January 14 to May 29, 1836, and on June 26, 1855, he received Donation Certificate No. 705 for 640 acres of land for having participated in the Battle of San Jacinto.

In 1839 Mr. Crawford entered the itinerant ministry of the Methodist Church. In the following year he was appointed a charter trustee of Rutersville College, Fayette County, incorporated February 5, 1840. The Methodist Conference at Rutersville, December 25 to 28, 1840, assigned him to the pulpit at Nashville, Milam County.

Reverend Crawford was married in October, 1846 to Mary Gray, daughter of D. P. Gray and Phebe Gray. Reverend Crawford died at Franklin, Robertson County, Texas, December 5, 1888, and was buried in the cemetery at Mount Vernon, seven or eight miles from Franklin. He was a member of the Texas Veteran Association. Mrs. Crawford was born in New York in 1826 and died at Franklin, Texas, November 24, 1901, She is buried in the cemetery at Franklin.

Children of Reverend and Mrs. Robert Crawford were as follows: Dr. Robert A. Crawford, deceased, unmarried; J. Andrew Crawford, who married Hassie Davis; John E. Crawford, who married Delia Kell; Charles W. Crawford, who married Artelia McCullough; and Mary Crawford, who married Dr. William Robert White.



Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.


Battle Statistics

  • Died in Battle: No
  • Rank: Private
  • Company: Capt. Robert J. Calder
  • Battle Account: “Brief Biographical Notes of Life of Dr. R. Crawford” 1883. Robert Crawford Papers, MC005

Personal Statistics

  • Date of Birth: 1815
  • Birthplace: South Carolina, Abbeville County
  • Origin: Tennessee, Maury County
  • Came to Texas: 1836, Jan 1
  • Date of Death: 1888 Dec 5
  • Burial Place: Mount Vernon, Robertson Co., Texas
  • Bounty Certificate: 2008
  • Donation Certificate: 705
  • Profession: Preacher
  • Wife: Mary Gray
  • Children: Robert A. Crawford; J. Andrew Crawford; John E. Crawford; Charles W Crawford; Mary Crawford White
  • Family at San Jacinto: Brother John B. Crawford at Harrisburg