Andrews, Richard (ca. 1797–1835)

Richard Andrews, early settler and soldier in the revolutionary army, was born in Georgia, the son of William and Mary Andrews. He was single and arrived in Texas in 1827. He and his brother Micah became Indian fighters, and both joined the army at the beginning of the Texas Revolution. Richard Andrews, called Big Dick because of his immense stature and strength, was wounded in the battle of Gonzales on October 2, 1835. He was with James Bowie and James W. Fannin, Jr., on October 28, 1835, at the battle of Concepción, in which he was killed—the first man to die in the Texas Revolution. Andrews County was named in his honor in 1876. Andrews, the county seat, is also named for him, and in 1936 the Texas Centennial Commission erected a marker honoring Andrews in a roadside park twelve miles west of the city on Farm Road 87.