The legacy of Trueheart Hill dates back to 1838 when my Great Great Grandfather John Overton Trueheart accompanied by his brother James Lawrence Trueheart came to Texas from Virginia to seek their fortunes. They settled in the San Antonio area and worked as surveyors. Land records indicated that both John Overton and James Lawrence were awarded land grants in 1841.
From June to October 1841, John Overton served in the Texas Rangers frontier military company commanded by the famous Texas Ranger Captain John Coffee "Jack" Hays. He very probably was with Captain Hays at the battle of Enchanted Rock.
In 1843 John Overton returned to his native Virginia for his family. In 1845 he returned to Galveston with his wife, Ann Tompkins Minor and six of their eight children and settled there. My Great Grandfather Henry Martyn Trueheart was among them. In 1851 Henry at the age of 19 sold a cattle herd that he had accumulated and invested in a dairy operation. In 1857 he was appointed to fill a vacancy as assessor and collector of taxes for Galveston County. Reelected to the post several times he continued in the office until 1863.
On December 20, 1860 the secession convention in Columbia, South Carolina took that state out of the union and subsequent events saw the formation of the Confederate States of America. Texas followed on April 12, 1861 and the war was on. In late 1862 Galveston fell to the Federal forces. Henry Martyn defended the island in that fight and also participated in the recapture of the city on January 1, 1863. In June of 1863 he went to the front lines in Virginia where he first served with the 7th Virginia Calvary and then with McNeill's Rangers until the end of the war. He was paroled at New Creek, Virginia, on May 5, 1865. Henry's brother Charles William Trueheart was attending the University of Virginia Medical School when the war broke out. He entered the war as an infantryman in a company composed of University of Virginia students, eventually served as an artillerist in the 1st Rockbridge Artillery with the legendary "Stonewall Brigade" and as an assistant regimental surgeon, 8th Alabama Infantry, with Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. He ended the war at Appomattox Court House as an assistant surgeon with the 1st Regiment Confederate Engineers. Henry's and Charles' war experiences are documented in a recently published book entitled "Rebel Brothers", "The Civil War Letters of the Truehearts" . Edited by Edward B. Williams.
Williams, Edward B. Rebel Brothers: The Civil War Letters of the Truehearts. 1995. Military History #44. 296 pp. 3 b&w photos. 5 maps. Bib. Index. 6x9. LC 95-13098. -656-7. $35.00s
Henry Martyn returned to Galveston after the war with his new bride Annie Van Meter Cunningham. He went on to build a successful real estate business with his brother-in-law John Adriance. The Trueheart-Adriance Building which housed the business has been fully restored and still stands today at 210 Kempner. In 1888 Henry Martyn invested in the land that I now call Trueheart Hill.