Griffith, Lycurgus E. (1813–1897)

Lycurgus E. Griffith, physician, was born in Clarksburg, Maryland, on January 9, 1813, to Rev. Alfred and Catherine (Shull) Griffith. After receiving his education as a doctor from the University of Maryland, he and his brother, Horatio, left Baltimore in the spring of 1836 and reached San Augustine, Texas, nine days after the battle of San Jacinto. The doctor's first patient in Texas was Gen. Sam Houston. Griffith practiced in San Augustine until 1842, when he moved first to Paris, Texas, then to Clarksville. In 1846, during the Mexican War, he had charge of a field hospital in San Antonio. He returned to San Augustine in 1846, then moved to Milam, and finally settled in 1857 in Nacogdoches County, where he practiced medicine and operated a drugstore. Later he acquired the Simpson Hotel in Nacogdoches and managed it until he and his family moved to Terrell in 1883. He was married to Sarah Jane Clark, daughter of William Clark, Jr. They had eight children. Griffith died at Terrell on December 21, 1897.