Horatio Chriesman was a colonial statesman, Methodist lay leader, and pioneer in Burleson County. He came to Texas in 1822 from Kentucky. He served as surveyor for Austin's Colony from 1823 to 1836, was a military officer in Indian conflicts and also in the army of Gen. Sam Houston during the Texas War for Independence, and in 1837 served on a commission to choose the site of the capital of the Texas Republic. He first married Mary Kincheloe and after her death married Augusta Hope. He had eleven children.