William Henry Dearduff (1810 - 1836)

Biography

Defenders in the Battle of the Alamo

Immortal 32 of Gonzales Colony

Gonzales Mounted Rangers, the "Immortal 32"

William Dearduff was born in 1810 in Virginia, USA to parents, Henry Dearduff and Edna Thornhill of Greene County, OH. (Edna Thornhill- daughter of William Thornhill. ^[1]

William immigrated to Texas to DeWitt Colony on 20 March 1830, either accompanying Elizabeth Rowe and James George or following them. He applied for his single man's land grant and received title to one fourth sitio in DeWitt Colony on 5 Nov, 1831.^[2][1] He cleared his land, and planted it. ^[3]The land grant was located on Sandies Creek north of Cuero. There he was in possession of 4 lots (a block) located in the NW part of Gonzales tract near the San Marcos River. He was brother in law to James George, another Alamo Defender. Although Gonzales Co.^[1] Tax roll of 1838 shows Frederick Rowe as agent for William Dearduff, by 1839 his sister, Elizabeth Rowe was listed on the Gonzales Co tax roll of 1839. ^[4]

William Dearduff was a private in Robert McAlpin Williamson's Rangers. He joined the Gonzales Rangers on 24 Feb, 1836. ^{[1] [5]} William Dearduff was part of the "Immortal 32" Gonzales Mounted Rangers when they rode into the Alamo on March 1, 1836.

William Dearduff was killed in the Battle of the Alamo March 6, 1836.^[6]

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Note: Sister Elizabeth Dearduff petitioned 25 Jun 1838 for administration of the estate of her late former husband James George and brother William Dearduff. Heirs of Alamo defender. She was paid by the state $12.50 backpay for service. Heirs of William Dearduff received 1920 acres in DeWitt Co. and 640 acres in La Salle Co. for his service and death in the Alamo. See GLO bounty, grants search: https://s3.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/land-grants/index.cfm

• William Dearduff land bounty, Dewitt 1920 Acres Gonzales Bounty

• Gonzales 1st Headright 1.632,534 sq varas
• 1833 Mexican Land Grant

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/gonzalesrangersa-e.htm
2. ↑ Bill Groneman, "DEARDUFF, WILLIAM," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fde87), accessed November 03, 2015. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
3. ↑ http://www.thealamo.org/remember/history/defenders/index.html
4. ↑ History of Texas; from 1685 to 1892, Volume 1, By John Henry Brown, p143
5. ↑ "The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900, By Mike Cox, pg 54
6. ↑ "BillionGraves Index", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVJR-8JSQ : accessed 13 January 2015), William Dearduff

See also:

• http://www.geni.com/people/William-Dearduff-Immortal-32-Gonzales-Ranger/6000000018270931854
• http://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/land-grants/index.cfm