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Maverick — Texas political and ranching term
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Dr. Tommy Stringer
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The term “maverick” is common in Texas parlance. Various stories have been offered regarding the origin of the term, but virtually of them tie in one way or another to South Carolina native Samuel A. Maverick. After graduating from Yale in 1825, Maverick went back to South Carolina, but over the next few years lived in Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama before he moved to Texas in 1835. He settled in San Antonio as the conflict between Mexico and the Anglo Texans began to intensify. He was among the defenders of the Alamo, but was elected as one of the two delegates to the independence convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos. He left the garrison only five days before it fell to Santa Anna’s invading army. Following the convention’s adjournment, Maverick headed back to Alabama to tend to family business.
Returning to Texas in 1838, Maverick once again settled in San Antonio, where he established a law practice, and the following year was elected mayor of the city. When a Mexican force invaded Texas in 1842, Maverick was taken prisoner and held for several months in the notorious Perote prison in Mexico. Upon his release, he returned to San Antonio and was elected to a seat in the Congress of the Republic of Texas.
Maverick had acquired a small herd of cattle which he left on property he owned on Matagorda peninsula. The cattle were allowed to wander unattended and were unbranded. Residents came to refer to any unbranded stock as “one of Maverick’s.” When he sold his cattle to a buyer on “range delivery,” the purchaser had to hunt for them on the open range. Covering several counties, the buyer claimed any and all unbranded strays. By the late 1850s people in the San Antonio area referred to all unbranded cattle over a year old as “mavericks.” Maverick continued to expand his land holdings, eventually reaching 300,000 acres by 1870.
But “maverick” has also made its way into the political and social lexicons as well as being a ranching term. In addition to his tenure in the Congress of the Republic of Texas, he also served in the legislature following Texas’ admission to the Union. Although aligned with the Democratic Party, he tended to be his own man, unbounded by party restraints. Consequently, those who go their own way rather than acting as part of a group or herd have come to be known as mavericks — those who march to their own drummer in the world of politics or society in general, so to speak.
Maverick’s son, Sam, Jr., like his father was prominent in San Antonio business and civic affairs. His grandson, Maury Maverick, was a powerful Congressman representing the Alamo City during the New Deal days and later served as mayor of San Antonio.
Samuel Maverick died in 1870 and is buried in San Antonio.
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Dr. Tommy Stringer is executive director of the Navarro College Foundation. His radio program, “Texas Legends,” airs at 6:55 a.m. weekdays on KAND Radio.
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