Christopher Columbus Fitzgerald

Christopher Columbus Fitzgerald was born in Georgia about 1848 to parents Rev. Asa and Mary Fitzgerald. He commonly went by his middle name of Columbus, but early records show a combination of the use of both names. Sometime around 1864, the Fitzgerald family moved to Fort Worth. Columbus’ father, Asa Fitzgerald, was a preacher, a prospector, and a frequent litigant in lawsuits.¹ In 1868, Asa was the co-founding preacher of what would become the First Baptist Church of Fort Worth.²

By early 1874, at the age of 26, Columbus was already active in his law enforcement career and was appointed to the role of a Deputy City Marshal. Later that same year, he was elected City Marshal on December 16, 1874. He replaced the sitting  T. M. Ewing who had resigned. By 1876, Columbus ran for reelection to the City Marshal position, however Jim Courtright won the position by just 3 votes. Columbus was appointed to the Deputy City Marshal position after his loss to Courtright and he remained in this position for the rest of his short career.

In addition to his police work, he was also a volunteer fireman and worked with Hook and Ladder Company #1,³ which was established in 1873.⁴

On August 25, 1877, Columbus was killed in the line of duty after responding to a dispute over the possession of a horse in a stable behind the Trans-Continental Hotel in Downtown Fort Worth. In this altercation, Mr. Fitzgerald received a gunshot wound to the face. He also was shot a second time during the dispute, which would ultimately prove fatal.⁵ Columbus died the next day on August 26, 1877 and his funeral was well attended.⁶

Although his headstone reads simply the year “1859,” there are no records that indicate this was a birth or death year. It also has nothing to do with his career as a marshal. In addition to this inaccuracy, it also appears Columbus was not the first City Marshal of Fort Worth, but rather one of the early marshals of the city. He is the first known officer to die in the line of duty in Fort Worth.⁷