Joseph Salmon: Texas Ranger and Pioneer Farmer (1806–1863)
By: William V. Scott
Published: November 25, 2024
Updated: November 25, 2024
Joseph Salmon, farmer, stock raiser, county official, soldier, and Texas Ranger, was born on April 6, 1806, in Greenup County, Kentucky, to James and Frances Morgan (Blade) Salmon. Joseph Salmon married Elizabeth Roberts, daughter of John and Mary Roberts of Virginia, on March 30, 1826, in Lawrence County, Ohio. The Salmons migrated from Kentucky to Illinois to Arkansas and arrived in the Republic of Texas in 1839. Their family grew as they headed west, and their children included John A., Mary, Thomas, Hannah, Joseph Jr., Jane, Albert, and Martha.
On the 1850 census the Salmons were listed as farming in Milam County, Texas. The agricultural schedule attached to the same census and recorded for the Williamson District valued Salmon’s livestock at just over $1,500, which included ten horses, thirty milk cows, eight oxen, seventy-five cattle, and fifty sheep. In 1854 the Salmons moved to southeastern Erath County and eventually settled in a region that was later associated with the community of Clairette. When their son Albert died in 1858, he was buried on a section of their land that later became Clairette Cemetery. Salmon served Erath County as a county commissioner in 1857 and 1860. On August 2, 1858, he was elected justice of the peace, and in 1862 he served on the Erath County Board of Equalization, which looked at property taxes. In 1860 Joseph Salmon was listed as a stock farmer in Erath County, and the 1860 agricultural census valued his livestock at $6,000, which included 1 horse, 15 milk cows, 3 oxen, 500 cattle, 12 pigs, and 350 sheep that produced 1,800 pounds of wool. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, Salmon bought tracts in both Erath and Comanche counties to expand his operations.
During the Civil War, Joseph Salmon enlisted as a private in Capt. John J. Keith’s Erath County Minute Men of the Texas State Troops on May 17, 1861. He spent 100 days in the saddle on scouting duty and was paid for those services through February 28, 1862. On February 1, 1862, Salmon enlisted under Capt. John Salmon, his son, at Stephenville for twelve months and was mustered in on March 8 at the same location in Company B in the Frontier Regiment under Col. James M. Norris. Salmon reenlisted and was discharged on February 2, 1863, at Camp Salmon, also named for Salmon’s son. His company was mustered out of service on February 12, 1863, by Lt. M. B. Loyd and was re-mustered the same day by Lt. W. J. Alexander. Salmon was reimbursed from the state for his horse, arms, and clothing.
Joseph Salmon died on November 10, 1863, and was buried in Clairette Cemetery in Erath County, Texas. His widow, Elizabeth remained on Bosque Creek in Erath County until her death in 1890 and was buried alongside her husband.
Bibliography:
Dublin Progress, September 16, 1949. Historical Marker Files, Texas Historical Commission, Austin (Clairette Cemetery). “Joseph Salmon,” Find A Grave Memorial (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30191426/joseph-salmon), accessed November 1, 2024. Stephenville Empire, October 13, 1911. Stephenville Empire-Tribune, July 25, 1947.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
William V. Scott, “Salmon, Joseph,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/salmon-joseph.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
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- November 25, 2024
- November 25, 2024
