Matagorda, Matagorda County
(1798-1865) Georgia native Albert Clinton Horton came to Texas in 1834 from Alabama, where he had served in the state legislature. He established a plantation along Caney Creek in present Wharton County. In 1835, he returned to Alabama to recruit volunteers for the Texas army, and he served as colonel of a cavalry unit during the Texas Revolution. Upon the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1836, Horton was elected to congress. He was chairman of the commission appointed by president M.B. Lamar to select a site for a permanent capitol for the Republic of Texas in 1839. When Texas became a state in December 1845, Horton was elected its first Lt. Governor. He served as acting governor for over a year while Governor Henderson was leading Texas forces in the Mexican War. When Baylor University was founded in 1845, Horton was a charter trustee. By the 1850s, he had homes in both Wharton and Matagorda. He and his partner, Abner Clements, gave land for Christ Episcopal Church in Matagorda, the first Episcopal church in Texas. He and his wife, Eliza Holliday, had six children. Horton died in Matagorda in 1865, various sources listing the date of death as September 1, or October 7. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986