Abednego
Greene Malcolm, known also as Greene Malcolm and in some records as
Greenbury Malcolm, was born September 18, 1821 near Frankfurt, Kentucky.
Orphaned at nine years of age, he was the son of a Veteran of the War
of 1812 and grandson of Revolutionary War Veteran, Nathanial Greene, of
Revolutionary War fame.
By profession, Greene Malcolm was a Physician,
having graduated from the School of Medicine at Edinburg, Scotland. He
traveled extensively over Europe, parts of Asia and the Fiji Islands and
once declined an offer from Commodore Perry to accompany him to Japan.
On
June 9th, 1846, at 25 years of age, he enlisted for service in the Mexican-American War at
Louisville, Kentucky serving with the 1st Regiment (Marshall’s) Kentucky
Cavalry. Stationed initially at Camp Patterson, Texas on October 31st,
his unit was ordered to Monterey, Mexico in December 1846.
During his
Mexican-American War service he saw action in the Battle of Agua Nacoa and was
with General Zachary Taylor at the Battle of Buena Vista. He carried a scar from
that battle where he received a wound inflicted by a Mexican
Cavalryman.
He was afterwards with General Winfield Scott at the fall of Mexico
City and was the second man over the wall at the fall of that , fortress city. He was discharged from service following the war on June 1st 1847
at New Orleans. During the war he contracted chronic dysentery which he
never got over.
In 1848, he went to California where he amassed a
fortune and lost it all by the causes of fire, flooding and Indian
raids and spent the next two years on the Texas frontier fighting
Indians.
On June 15th, 1861, at the opening of the War Between The
States, he enlisted in the
serving in the rank of Major.
His campaign participation included operations in Kentucky and Tennessee and he carried the last train out of Atlanta, Georgia just before its fall into the hands of Federal troops.
Following the War Between The States and the South’s defeat,
rather than endure the persecution and humiliation of “Reconstruction,”
he traveled to Mexico, where with other like-minded Confederate
soldiers, he helped to plant a Confederate colony.
The Civil War was actually fought over "States Rights."
After establishing his colony in Mexico, he returned to Atlanta, Georgia
where he planned and organized another expedition of ex-Confederate soldiers
and their families. Setting out in the Spring of 1867, his colony of
thirty families made their way to New Orleans where they booked passage
for Spanish Honduras (The Republic of Honduras).
Despite their
difficulties, upon arrival at Fortress Omoa, near Puerto Cortes, Major
Malcolm led his colony of Southern refugees into the interior of
Honduras where at Comayagua, Honduras he met with representatives of the
Republic and presented a letter for President Medina of the Republic of
Honduras explaining their reasons for emigration and an offer of
services in exchange for citizenship, certain considerations and
concessions:
“GENTLEMEN: [ 1867 ]
The undersigned
respectfully submits to your consideration that on the 10th of April,
after a passage of ten days, I arrived in the city of Omoa with seventy
souls, emigrants to your beautiful land. These persons consist of men,
women and children who are what might be termed the forerunners of
perhaps thousands of the best citizens of the Southern States, of the
United States. We wish to make this our home.
To find in this that which we have lost in our own native land, liberty.
To make this what our country was before it was destroyed by our enemies.
Our
desire is to become citizens of the Republic at once, to be a part of
your people, to claim your protection, to defend you with our lives from
foreign invasion, and to do our whole duty to our adopted country.
In
coming among you we would state that on account of our recent great
misfortunes, many of us are greatly impoverished, and without going into
further preliminary remarks, would give this as our reason for asking
you to grant the following privileges and donations. ...
With the highest consideration,
I am gentlemen, your obedient servant.
(Signed) G. MALCOLM.
Comayagua, Honduras, C.A., May 3, 1867.”
Soon
after establishing their colony near San Pedro Sula, and naming it the
colony of “Medina”, in honor of the President of the Republic of
Honduras, it was decided to place the government of their local
interests under the control of a council, in order to avoid the
necessity of assembling the entire colony when any question of interest
or expediency should arise likely to affect their welfare. At a public
meeting, an election was held of the following representatives:
Major Malcolm as their presiding officer, L. G. Pirkle, H.H. Briers, George W. Walters
J.H. Wade, and P. Goldsmith, Secy.
Major
Malcolm was later appointed Minister of Immigration by the government
of the Republic of Honduras in order to facilitate their transition of
new arrivals to the colony.
About 1870, Major Malcolm removed
to Texas where he remained till his death on December 11th, 1906 in
Malakoff, Henderson county, Texas.
Major Malcolm was twice married,
first to Nannie Roark and second to Susan Francis Lee, daughter of
Thomas and Elizabeth (Strong) Lee of San Jacinto county, Texas. From
these two marriages spring many descendants. Major Malcolm is buried in
the Post Oak Memorial Cemetery in Malakoff, Henderson county, Texas.
Clarence Douglas Malcolm
Proud descendant of Scottish Highlander
clan "Malcolm" and Major Abednego Green Malcolm
