DARST, JACOB C. (1793-1836). Jacob C. Darst, Alamo defender, son of David and Rosetta (Holman) Darst, was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, on December 22, 1793. He was a farmer. In 1813 he married Elizabeth Bryan in Charles County, Missouri. After her death in 1820, he married Margaret C. Hughs. Darst, his wife, and his two children left for Texas in 1830 and arrived in DeWitt's colony^qv on January 10, 1831. Darst registered for twenty-four labores of land on the Guadalupe River above Gonzales and also for one labor on a small creek that empties into the Lavaca. In September 1835 Darst was one of the original "Old Eighteen,"^qv defenders of the Gonzales cannon. On February 23, 1836, he was mustered into service in the Gonzales Ranging Company of Mounted Volunteers. He entered the Alamo with this unit on March 3, 1836, and died in the battle of the Alamo^qv three days later.

Jacob Darst married second Margaret C. Hughes 3 Oct 1820. On 24 Apr 1831 he received title to a league of land on the Guadalupe River north of Gonzales in current GuadalupeCo. His 24/25 sitio was on current Darst Creek which runs south seven miles to the Guadalupe River. His labor which was east of Hallettsville, south of Sweet Home, in LavacaCo was registered in Jul 1831. The Darst's had a residence at the corner of St. John and St. Lawrence Streets in inner Gonzales town when the town was burned after the Alamo defeat in 1836. Darst also owned property in the outer Gonzales town west. Darst was among the Old Eighteen who originally refused to give up the Gonzales cannon to the Mexicans in Sep 1835. Darst was involved in supplying the new Texas Republican army evidenced by an affidavit of 15 Dec 1836 signed by him in Gonzales:

"I hereby certify that I went to the grist mill belonging to Joseph S. Martin of this place during the month of September last and that I delivered to the written and verbal order of Valentine Bennet Comisary for the use of the troops then at Gonzales twelve bushels of meal belonging to Joseph S. Martin from his mill."

Jacob C. Darst (signed). On the back Capt. William Patton wrote:

"From my knowledge and the statement of Major Bennet I have no doubt the within acct is correct and the meal worth one dollar & 25 cts per bushel." W.H. Patton (signed).

Fifteen year old son David Sterling Hughes Darst (1821-1906) accompanied his father Jacob on a trip to Goliad sometime in 1836 and was a witness to many events of the period which he related into the early 1900's. David Darst was the son-in-law of DeWitt Colony pioneer "Red" Adam Zumwalt. The heirs of Jacob Darst received 960 acres in GuadalupeCo for his service in the Alamo (name Jacob Durst on warrant 9353) and an additional 640 acres in AtascosaCo.

David Sterling Hughes Darst. David Sterling Hughes Darst was born in Montgomery County, Missouri August 3, 1821, the son of Jacob C. Darst (December 22, 1793 Tennessee). He arrived in Gonzales with his parents January 8, 1831 from Missouri. Darst's father Jacob who married Margaret C. Hughes October 3, 1820 was the son of David Darst. Two of David's nine children, Jacob and Abraham, went to Texas with their parents. Abraham married Tabitha Calloway, granddaughter of Daniel Boone, and settled in Brazoria County. Jacob settled in Gonzales in DeWitt's colony. He was granted in 1831 twenty-four labors of land located on the north side of the Guadalupe River in what was later Guadalupe County and known in 1984 as the Darst Creek oil field [Darst received 23 labors (23/24 sitio) at this location, he was granted an additional labor of farmland to complete the sitio for which he was eligible as a married settler which was in western LavacaCo toward the DeWittCo line--WLM].

When the Gonzales cannon was demanded by the Mexicans in September, 1835 Jacob Darst was one of the company of eighteen men who defended it. D.S.H. Darst was fifteen years of age when he accompanied his father to Goliad previous to the surrender of Colonel Fannin. It was that same spring when Jacob answered the call of the Alamo and was killed March 6, 1836. The young Darst along with his mother witnessed the burning of Gonzales by General Sam Houston and with other families joined the Runaway Scrape and stopped at the Trinity River. Young Darst and his mother returned to Gonzales in 1839 to begin life again. Mrs. Darst died in 1846. In 1840 he participated in the Battle of Plum Creek and was also with the Texas army at San Antonio when that city was captured by the Mexican army in 1842. In 1845 he married Emeline Zumwalt. They had three children: Imogene who married G.W. Betts; John who was killed, in 1888; and James D. Darst. A granddaughter Ornie married George N. Lamkin and lived in the Harwood community. A great-granddaughter Josephine Lamkin Caperton lived in Luling. His only other known descendants were Josephine Caperton's great niece Shirley Ann Hendricks Springs and her two children, Steven Christopher and Jamie Lee Springs, all of Luling. Darst was a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church, serving for years as ruling elder. In June, 1853 he was one of the co-founders of the Gonzales Inquirer. He served as mayor of Gonzales from 1850-1853, as county treasurer for twelve years and as a trustee of the Gonzales College. His name was listed as a trustee in the first catalogue of the college published for the year 1856-1857. He was the first petitioner to be initiated into the Masonic Lodge after it was organized in Gonzales in 1846. The ceremony was held in the "Little Union Church", the only public meeting place in town. He was also a charter member of the Gonzales Royal Arch Chapter Number 51. In 1847 he joined the Commandery in Austin, later becoming a charter member of the Gonzales Commandery. Darst was one of the first merchants in Gonzales and in 1860 he built a brick home in the town. The grounds covered eighteen acres and were said to be some of the finest in the area. During the Civil War he was appointed District Confederate States deputy marshal until the end of the war when the office was dissolved. He suffered financial losses as many of his friends did as an aftermath of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period. In 1874 he built a mill and gin on East Avenue. It was later known as the Vrazel Gin and was located where the Boysen Food Market stood in 1984. Darst was one of the men instrumental in bringing the railroad branch line to Gonzales August 9, 1882, contributing $500 toward that venture. In later years Darst was the person who verified the location where the first shot for Texas Independence was fired on the banks of the Guadalupe River October 2, 1835. The site was marked by a granite monument commemorating the battle and the men who fought there. He died in Gonzales June 14, 1906 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery with full Masonic ceremonies. Josephine Lamkin Caperton (From The History of Gonzales County, Texas. Reprinted by permission of the Gonzales County Historical Commission).

Darst was listed in the 1850 census of GonzalesCo, Town of Gonzales: Darst, David S.H., 29, m, Merchant, $4,300, Mo; Darst, Emaline, 29, f, Mo; Darst, Imogine, 2, f, Texas.