| Rebellious Ranger: Rip Ford and the Old Southwest Contributor(s): Hughes, W. J. (Author), Buenger, Walter L. (Foreword by) |
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ISBN: 0806110848 ISBN-13: 9780806110844 Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press OUR PRICE: $24.70 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 1964 Annotation: "Few newcomes became so thoroughly Texas as did Rip Ford. His career reads like a dime novel. He was in fact the hero of several such fiction pieces. He was born in South Carolina with the ordinary name of John Salmon Ford. His father, originally a Virginian, drifted west to Lincoln County, Tennessee. The boy quickly went through the country school and at sixteen years of age taught himself for a time. At nineteen he 'read medicine' under Dr. James G. Barksdale, the basis of his later part-time career as a frontier medical man. . . . The book is indispensable for the history of Texas and for certain aspects of the Mexican War." JOURNAL OF THE WEST |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 91111307 |
| Physical Information: 0.97" H x 5.41" W x 8.24" (0.89 lbs) 328 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Southwest U.S. - Geographic Orientation - Texas - Cultural Region - Mid-South - Cultural Region - South |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Texas of John Salmon Ford's day demanded men of courage and versatility. Ford was such a man. He came to Texas in 1836, quickly became active in Texas affairs, and remained so until his death in 1897. During his long life, Ford was a practicing physician, adjutant in Colonel Hays's regiment of Texas Rangers during the Mexican War, newspaper editor, explorer and surveyor, state senator, mayor and city marshal of Austin, Ranger captain and Indian fighter, Mexican revolutionary general, Sunday-school teacher, Confederate colonel, mayor of Brownsville, superintendent of the state Deaf and Dumb School, and a charter member, of the state historical society. Ford was instrumental in getting Texas into the Union and, fifteen years later, in getting her out. After the Civil War he helped frame the new state constitution and place Texas once again in the roster of states. He defended her frontiers in the west against Comanches and in the south against Mexican raiders. The story of his life is one of service to his state. He loved Texas as only an old Texian could and stood ready to serve her in any capacity. Texas called on him to serve primarily as a trouble shooter, and he served well. Although the hero of several dime novels, Old Rip has never before been the subject of a complete biography based on historical research. His colorful and adventurous life reflects the growing pains of Texas during the formative years. Ford's life was never dull; neither is his biography. |
Contributor Bio(s): Hughes, W. J.: - W. J. Hughes held degrees from the University of Colorado, Western Illinois University, and Texas Technological College. He taught history at Mankato State College in Minnesota. Buenger, Walter L.: -Walter L. Buenger is Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. |