When was juan antonio padilla born shoes

Leaving Natchez June 17, , with 75 men, he reached Nacogdoches with approximately , including Samuel Davenport, Bernado Guitierrez de Lara, and many others who had fled in It is very probable that Dr. With the capture of his block houses and forts on the Brazos, Trinity and Red rivers, Mrs. Jane Long, who had been left at Nacogdoches, fled across the Sabine, and her husband soon followed, thus ending his first attempt at freeing Texas, in October, Built Under the leadership of Alcalde James Dill Nacogdoches soon regained its former prestige as the largest town in East Texas, and settlers from the United States began coming in increasing numbers under the beneficient colonization laws of the new government in Mexico; but things were much changed.

In Haden and Benjamin Edwards secured their ill-fated contract as empresarios. When Edwards began to plant his colonists, sometimes on land which had once belonged to the Mexican inhabitants and had been abandoned temporarily in the flight of , the friction between the Americans and Mexicans increased. On the northwest of them also had settled a tribe of Cherokee Indians, who claimed the right to occupy a vast territory which had formerly been the habitation of the friendly Tejas Indians.

This triangular situation bred distrust and antagonism that at last broke out into open warfare, and threw the country into the wildest disorder, in what is known as the Fredonian War in The Fredonian rebellion resulted in many of the prominent citizens of the town being expelled in —among whom were John S. The Mexican general, Ahumada, who occupied Nacogdoches upon this occasion, was a genuine diplomat, and with the assistance and advice of Stephen F.

Austin, who came to Nacogdoches with Ahumada, soon had the old town peaceful again. However, the man whom Ahumada selected as comandante here proved to be an unfortunate choice, and Colonel Jose de las Piedras soon aroused the hostility of the American settlers with his high-handed, arbitrary methods, as was the case with Col. Bradburn at Anahuac.

Standing at corner Lanana and Pilar street. Juan Antonio Padilla had been appointed as commissioner general for granting land titles in East Texas, assuming his duties on January 1, Upon the passage of the law of April 6th, Padilla was unwilling to enforce its provisions, and in the latter part of April he was ordered by Don Ramon Musquiz, political chief in Bexar, to be imprisoned and suspended on a trumped-up-charge of murder.

An outbreak was prevented in Nacogdoches only by prompt action on the part of Col. Piedras, while the people of Ayish Bayou and the Palo Gacho met and passed resolutions of an inflammatory nature. Stephen F. Austin refused to cooperate in this opposition and thus for a time the trouble was delayed. Under the dictatorship of Bustamente the military comandantes continually encroached upon the power of the civil authorities, and finally, in June, , the settlers at Anahuac rebelled and ousted Bradburn, Piedras arriving too late with troops from Nacogdoches and Fort Teran.

Becoming alarmed at the rising tide of opposition, Col. Piedras, upon his return, ordered the people of Nacogdoches to surrender all their arms. This order was followed immediately by an appeal from the ayuntamiento in Nacogdoches, issued July 28, , to the neighboring communities to present an united front against this action; copies of this resolution were sent to Ayish Bayou, the Palo Gacho, Tenaha and San Felipe de Austin and met immediate response from all except San Felipe.

Two companies came from the Ayish Bayou settlement, commanded by Capts. On the morning of August 2, , these forces met in the eastern outskirts of Nacogdoches and elected Colonel James W. Bullock as commander-in-chief of approximately men. Colonel Piedras commanded approximately the same number of Mexican soldiers, and proceeded to fortify the Stone House, the old Catholic church and the Red House.

An Ultimatum from the settlers for Piedras to declare in favor of Santa Anna and the Constitution of , or surrender at discretion to an officer to be selected by Colonel Bullock, brought forth the answer that none of the demands would be complied with, and that he was prepared to fight. By noon the Mexicans had retreated to the business part of town, around the Stone House.

As we began 11 our march we heard a French horn. When we had gotten about opposite the Stone House the Mexican cavalry made a furious charge upon us, pouring upon us a heavy fire of small arms; they advanced to within a few steps of our lines, but were forced back with considerable loss. The Mexicans about mid-afternoon were driven out of the Stone House, and the main body of their army was concentrated in the cuartel or Old Red House, the older part of which was built of adobe, and almost as strong as stone; it also had the advantage of several dormer windows on the second floor, from which sharpshooters could better defend the building.

The fighting continued with unabated fury until night separated the combatants. Colonel Piedras evacuated Nacogdoches during the night of the 2nd, under the protecting cloak of a heavy fog, retreating westward toward the Angelina river. Here Piedras lost many of his men in an unsuccessful attempt to cross the river. It was from this event that the name Buckshot Crossing was given to this place.

During the following morning Colonel Piedras surrendered the command to Captain Francisco Medina, who in turn declared for Santa Anna and surrendered to James Carter the entire Mexican force of some four hundred men. James Bowie, who reached Nacogdoches a few days after the battle, agreed to convey the Mexican troops to San Antonio, and in his report stated that there were 33 Mexicans killed and 17 or 18 wounded; the Americans losing three men killed and seven wounded.

The Battle of Nacogdoches was the opening gun in the Texas Revolution, and resulted in the expulsion of all Mexican troops from the territory east of San Antonio, giving the Texans an opportunity to hold their Convention without military interference of the enemy. Peter Ellis Bean Home Built Nacogdoches now became more and more American in its character.

In 12 the neighboring municipality of San Augustine was organized, and the two sister towns grew in numbers and influence. Nacogdoches was the capital of the department of the same name, and held jurisdiction over all the region east of Trinity River. The alcaldes who presided over the civil affairs of the municipality from the first reorganization in had usually been chosen from among the Mexican people living there, but after the expulsion of the Mexican troops in Americans were selected to fill that office, and the town gradually assumed a character more American than Mexican.

American customs prevailed over those of former times, and the business fell into the hands of enterprising merchants and tradesmen from the States. The Indians to the northeast were impressed by the power and vigor of the new people and left them unmolested, although they also had increased until they greatly outnumbered the whites.

Business was thriving, the population was increasing, and new settlers were coming into the town, or taking up land in the country. Commerce was greatly aided by the communication with the other colonies in the interior, and an era of prosperity seemed to have dawned. But in the midst of all came more political troubles in the republic of Mexico.

Santa Anna, by a rapid series of measures, overturned the constitution of , under which the settlement of the province by Americans had begun. The guarantees of liberty seemed to be disappearing. Trouble began to arise at Galveston and at Anahuac. Still Nacogdoches remained peaceful, hoping even against hope that all would yet be well. At length, however, the ambition of the Mexican dictator began to unfold itself, and his designs against the lovers of freedom in Texas became manifest.

Even yet the mind of the people refused to move towards complete independence. Delegates from the war party at San Felipe visited the town, and by their persuasion at length convinced the people that it was in vain to lie still any longer. Then East Texas was ready to act, and from Nacogdoches and San Augustine armed soldiers set forth on the long march across the State to the threatened region around San Antonio.

Taylor, John S. Roberts, William G. Logan, Henry Raguet, Dr. James H. Starr, John Forbes, Kelsey H. Douglass, Wm. Ochiltree and a host of others, Nacogdoches practically financed the Texas Revolution, feeding and arming the men pouring in from the United States to the defence of the new Republic. The tide of war never really rolled near to East Texas.

For a time General Sam Houston was accused of intending to flee through Nacogdoches to the Sabine, where an American army was supposed to be expecting him, but he had other designs, which were consummated on the field of San Jacinto, and the danger was dispelled. East Texas, however, did suffer the throes of a paroxysm of panic. It was known that Mexican agents were 13 dispersed among the Cherokee and other Indians north of the settlements.

Reports, highly colored no doubt, were disseminated that these Indians were about to move in an overwhelming body on the unprotected settlements, whose men were in the field against the Mexican army, and wipe out town and countryside alike. The news of victory soon restored the minds of the people to sanity, and they entered with alacrity into the work of establishing the new government of the Republic.

After the disorganization of the West and South, which were devastated by the advance of the enemy. East Texas remained in a position of leadership, and furnished perhaps more than its share of the prominent officials of the Republic. The towns, including Nacogdoches, were alive with the discussions of governmental problems, and the advocacy of the names of the foremost citizens for high offices.

After the repression of Mexican domination, politics arose to unprecedented heights, and everybody was affected by political fervor. Following the formation of the new government, the business men of Nacogdoches entered upon a period of expansion, resulting in the laying out of numerous new towns in the then Nacogdoches county, extending almost to the Gulf of Mexico on the south and including Dallas on the north.

Among the towns thus formed following the Revolution may be mentioned Pattonia south of Nacogdoches on the Angelina river, and a little further south the town of Travis on the same river, Mount Sterling at the home of John Durst on the Angelina river west of Nacogdoches, and a few miles further up the river where the present highway crosses, the town of Angelina where James Durst and his father, Joe Durst, lived.

Thornville, near the present village of Mahl; Liberty, a few miles northwest of Douglass; Jackson, built on an island on the Attoyac not far from where Chireno was later founded. Haden Edwards founded two towns north of Nacogdoches on the Sabine river, near the present town of Longview, one of which was named Fredonia, in memory of his ill-fated revolution, and the other he called Cotton-Plant.

In addition to these ghost towns of long ago, we may mention such towns as Attoyac, Melrose, Chireno and Douglass, each of which was regularly laid out in lots and blocks, in anticipation of the boom to come. But the war was not over yet. The Mexican army had been defeated and expelled, but there were enemies at home. The town of Nacogdoches was aroused to feverish excitement when the preacher and congregation of a country meeting came in one night with the news that the Mexican population of the country had risen in arms under the leadership of a former 14 alcalde, Vicente Cordova, and were on the warpath against the American citizens.

General Rusk at once called for volunteers, and scouts were sent everywhere to discover the whereabouts of the insurgents. All the next day their efforts were in vain, but at length John Durst and a party of scouts under him, came in with the report that they were encamped across the Angelina river in what is now Cherokee county, where they were doubtless waiting to join those Indians to make war against the American settlers.

Rusk appealed to the people of San Augustine and Sabine counties, and within forty-eight hours they began to arrive, armed and equipped for a campaign. After some delay, caused by contradictory orders from President Houston, Rusk marched into the Indian country, where he found that the rebels had gone to other tribes, and were beyond his reach.

He marched to the Cherokee and Shawnee villages and so impressed them with the readiness with which he had assembled so considerable a body of soldiers that they readily premised peace and disavowed any connection with the Mexican insurgents. In the meantime the town began to grow. It was the home of many of the prominent leaders of Texas during the time of the republic, whose influence was felt in the public affairs of the country.

General Thomas J. Rusk was a citizen of Nacogdoches until his death. Sam Houston frequently was a resident until his removal to Huntsville. Charles S. Taylor was very prominent in public affairs. William B. Ochiltree lived here for a time. Thomas J. Jennings, the elder, lived here until his removal to Marshall, as did Dr. James Reily, who was minister to the United States, had his home here.

These are some of the men more prominent in public life; among private citizens there were also many whose names were well known throughout the land. Of the county officers Oscar L. Colonel Haden Edwards, who returned to Nacogdoches after the bitterness of the Fredonian rebellion had subsided, was here until his death, and his family continued to live here for many years afterwards.

Orton Home Built in The invaluable services of Nacogdoches and its people in opening up the great northern regions of Texas, after the expulsion of the Indians, had the result, unfortunate for it but inevitable, of diminishing the population and importance of the town. New centers of agriculture and trade sprang up and became towns which attracted more and more people to themselves, and new opportunities presented themselves for business enterprise.

It was easier to fence in the prairies than to clear the forest lands of East Texas. Many of the citizens of Nacogdoches, including some of the more prominent persons, removed to other places. After the annexation of Texas to the United States, Nacogdoches gradually settled down to the station of one of the many flourishing towns of the State, and lost the preeminence in political and social matters which had been its lots from the beginning of its history.

With San Augustine it still continued to be the center of this section of the State, and the two towns cooperated harmoniously in the development of the surrounding regions. Nacogdoches has always been an important social center. Even under Spanish rule it was noted for the culture of its inhabitants, and during the residence of the Governor of the State at this place in the unsettled period after the Louisiana purchase, there was a social life here that was not unworthy of a larger city.

During the third and fourth decade of the Nineteenth Century social amenities prevailed even through the confusion of changing political scenes of that time. The Mexican officers at that time were, as a rule, gentlemen, and the American immigrants included many persons of high culture and attainments. After the revolution the social standing of the place grew even stronger.

It was not merely in entertainments and enjoyments that Nacogdoches and San Augustine set the pace in East Texas; they became centers of learning as well. Schools flourished, and a refined taste in literary and scholastic affairs exhibited higher ideals of mental achievements. The University of Nacogdoches was established in , and attracted many persons who were desirous of scholastic training.

Old North Church Founded Standing four miles north Nacogdoches. When the shadow of war fell over the country in , Nacogdoches at 16 once took her place among those who were ready to offer their belongings and their lives upon the altar of their country. Her soldiers went to the front and did gallant service for the cause of the Confederacy.

At home, the women and other non-combatants worked and prayed for the success and safety of their loved ones far away on the battlefield. But war brought ruin to the town; the schools were overwhelmed in the general desolation. Business enterprise was at an end, and the great stores gave place to little shops, which barely supplied the necessities of life.

The soldiers came home and went back to their farms, but the old plantations had disappeared and the fields barely produced a living for their owners and workers. The town itself was reduced to the proportions of an insignificant village. The people bravely kept up the traditions of a more affluent existence, but it was a mournful struggle against untoward conditions.

These conditions prevailed for twenty years, but at length a harbinger of better times appeared in the shape of a railroad, the Houston East and West Texas, connecting Houston and Shreveport. It was a narrow-gauge road, burning wood for fuel and creeping along at an extremely low rate of speed, but it was the first road to pass through East Texas, where formerly the wagon and the two-horse hack formed the sole means of transportation.

It brought new business, new people and new ambitions to the place which soon began to be built up in brick in place of the old wooden houses of the earlier years. Soon cotton wagons assembled, bearing bales of wealth, and in the autumn season the streets were filled with people from surrounding counties selling their crops and buying supplies.

There was no boom. The town grew gradually and slowly. Greater business enterprises were undertaken and accomplished and various kinds of improvements were effected in the way of conveniences of living. For many years the village spirit remained among the people. Everybody knew everybody else, and each was interested in the welfare of all. New churches were erected and a new court house and also, sad to relate, a new jail.

A large lumber mill was erected on the east side of town which added to the prosperity of the place. Finally, after the World War, when a number of new teachers colleges were authorized by the Legislature, the enterprising spirit of the citizens secured the location of that one named for Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, and the promise of cultured prosperity evinced in the days of the Republic, but sadly interrupted by war, was at length realized.

Nacogdoches had now become one of the fairest of the little cities of Texas and bids a hearty welcome to all comers within her borders. The original picture has been re-photographed and the reproduction forms a treasured scene in many homes of the city. For one hundred fifty years tradition has thrown a veil of romance around the old building that formerly stood at the corner of Main and Fredonia streets, facing the northeast corner of the Plaza Principal in Nacogdoches, where the two main branches of El Camino Real merged.

Even as early as Revolutionary days it was regarded by many as being one of the old mission buildings, and later years this belief was strengthened when a wandering sign painter, with the permission of John S. The Stone House, as it was called in the early records, has a history more intriguing, more romantic, than any other building in the state of Texas, not even excluding the Alamo.

Over its walls all but one of the nine flags of Nacogdoches have flown. Built as a private enterprise by Antonio Gil Ybarbo in , as a trading post, it soon became the most important building in the New Philippines. In Lieut. For three months it was the seat of government of the Eastern Provinces of Spain, when Governor Manuel de Salcedo was here in the summer of Magee and Gutierrez proclaimed their republican government from the old building in ; as did Dr.

James Long on August 14, Again it became the capitol of the Fredonian Government, and on December 23, , the Fredonian flag was raised over its walls. Following the collapse of the Fredonian republic, the old building was occupied as a home by John Durst, and the happy laughter of little children resounded within its walls. Louis O.

In John Durst moved to his new home on the Angelina river and the Old Stone Fort was sold to Juan Mora, the district judge, and Vicente Cordova, district attorney under the Mexican regime, in The official records were again placed in the old building, where they remained until a courthouse was built in Within its walls the oath of allegiance was administered by the Mexican authorities to such celebrities as James Bowie, Thomas J.

Rusk, Sam Houston and David Crockett. Around its walls the forces of Bustamente and Santa Anna vied for supremacy on August 2, , at the Battle of Nacogdoches. Then in the spring of , the stone walls of the old building seemed a bulwark of safety to the few brave souls who refused to flee from threatened Indian massacre in the Runaway Scrape.

Rusk delivered one of his famous orations, which has been preserved to us in our court records. Even the transfer of title to the old house from Vicente Cordova brings an element of tragedy and in some respects even comedy. Cordova was the leader in the so-called Cordova Rebellion in , in which Zechariah Fenley was murdered and one of his slaves taken away.

Following this, in , Rebecca Fenley filed suit for damages against Cordova, not for the death of her husband, but for the loss of her slave. John S. The Old Stone Fort remained in the Roberts family until it was purchased by Perkins Brothers in ; after which it was torn down, the material given to the Cum Concilio Club of Nacogdoches, who used the stones in the erection of the Stone Fort Memorial in at the northwest corner of Washington Square, where it remained as a museum until , when the State of Texas again used the material from the Old Stone Fort in the erection of the present Replica of the Old Stone Fort on the beautiful campus of Stephen F.

It stands on the campus of the Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College and is maintained by the State as a museum. The Presidio Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, built in , was repaired and enlarged by the Marquis de Aguayo in , and abandoned about Built by the Spanish government as a fort and headquarters for soldiers guarding the East Texas Missions and the borders of the New Philippines, it overlooked Los Terreros or Mill creek, near the intersection of the Lower Douglass road with the road from Douglass to Wells.

In this mission was moved to San Antonio where it now stands. The Mission San Jose de los Nazonis was built 2. The third Catholic church was formerly the home of Nathaniel Norris at the northwest corner of Hospital and North streets. The fourth church was the Sacred Heart church on Pecan street, built in under the influence of Bishop J. Odin; which was in turn replaced by the present Sacred Heart church, built in on a portion of the homestead of Judge Charles S.

Taylor on North street, the house of the old Sacred Heart church being rebuilt about eight miles south of Nacogdoches as the Fern Lake church. The sites of the presidio and missions have been appropriately marked by the State of Texas. It was built in the early forties of last century by Mr. James B. Johnson, who was the first mayor of San Augustine.

It was used as a halfway station between San Augustine and Nacogdoches for the old Concord coaches used at that time for mail and passenger service. Here the horses were changed and passengers had meals. Another station on the same coach line stands in the town of Douglass, fourteen miles west of Nacogdoches. Father Margil went out in faith and smote the rock on the bank of LaNana creek, which had completely dried up, and two unfailing springs gushed out.

Gray residence. Musquiz and held prisoner many years in Mexico. During the Revolution under Morelos he made his escape and joined the revolutionary forces. Settled in East Texas and had several homes there. One of these was on the Carrizo creek, on the upper Melrose road, four and one-fourth miles east of Nacogdoches. Marked by the State of Texas.

Rusk, Charles S. Next to Austin in point of success was Green DeWitt. The provisions of the contracts practically all followed the same general outline. At the beginning of the contract the government stated that it admitted the petitioner's proposal to colonize vacant lands "in so far as it is conformable with the colonization laws.

That the empresario should respect the possession of lands which were already occupied under legal title. That the empresario should introduce the required number of families within six years or forfeit all rights and privileges granted to him by the law of March 24, That the families were to be of the Catholic religion and of good moral character.

That the introduction of criminals was not allowed. If any should appear, they were to be ejected. That the empresario should organize a national militia force and command it unless otherwise ordered. That when the empresario had introduced one hundred families, he should notify the government in order that a commissioner might be sent to give the colonists possession of the land.

That all official communications with the government and all public acts and documents were to be written in Spanish. Contracts made after April 6, contained the restriction that no immigrants from adjoining countries were to be allowed to settle. In several of the contracts appeared the admonition to the empresario to prevent all persons from bartering arms and ammunition with the Indians for horses and mules.

Two groups of empresarios The empresarios, the guiding spirits in the colonization of Texas, fell into two groups. The first of the groups consisted of men who through their own efforts, or the efforts of others, really accomplished something toward the settlement of their grants. They were not notably successful, as was Stephen F.

Austin; but they were instrumental in locating a number of families permanently, and thereby aided in bringing civilization to Texas. The second group included the ernpresarios who obtained contracts from the government, but who, either because of the lack of initiative and judgment, or because of shortage of capital, were unable to make any contribution to the settlement of the state.

Efforts toward colonization by the first group were in three distinct sections of Texas. Robertson's and Milam's grants lay in central Texas northwest of Austin's colonies. The Haden Edwards Grant. The grant to Edwards whose contract was canceled as a result of the Fredonian Rebellion was approximately the combined areas subsequently granted to David Burnet on the north and Joseph Vehlein on the south.

Beginning at the angle formed by a line twenty leagues from the Sabine and ten leagues from the coast of the gulf of Mexico; thence in a northerly direction, passing the post of Nacogdoches, and in the same direction fifteen leagues above; thence westwardly, at right angles with the first line, to the Navasoto creek, thence down said creek till it strikes the upper road from Bexar to Nacogdoches; thence eastwardly along the said road to the San Jacinto; thence down said river to within ten miles of the coast; thence eastwardly along a line ten miles from the coast to the beginning.

Beginning at a point where the road leading from Bexar to Nacogdoches known as the upper road crosses Navasoto creek, a line shall be run-- thence along said road, on a westerly course to the heights which divide the water of the rivers Brazos and Coloradothence on a northwest course along the said hills or heights to the northernmost head waters of the river "San Andres" and from the said head waters northeast on a straight line to the bell of [timber on the] Brazos, north from the Hucco village, and known as th "Great Forest" and in English as the Cross Timbers, and from the point where Said line intersects the "Great Forest" on a Southwest course along the height which divide the waters of the rivers Brazos and Trinity, to the headwaters of Navasoto Creek, and down the Said creek on its right margin to the place of beginning.

Frost Thorn Frost Thorn, another of the early empresarios, made a contract on April 15, , to introduce four hundred families. The boundaries of his colony were as follows:. Beginning at the closing point of the boundaries of a grant made to Mr. Haden Edwards, at fifteen leagues north of Nacogdoches; from this point a line shall run north to the line of the twenty boundary border leagues, on the boundary line of the United States of North America, oil the cast and on the north, which boundary leagues are not to be encroached upon.

Thence on a course westwardly to the headwaters of Navasoto Creek; thence down said creek to the boundary line of Mr. Haden Edwards; and thence with the line of said Edwards eastwardly to the place of beginning. DeLeon's colony The minor empresarios who contributed to the colonization of Texas were grouped, as previously stated, in three distinct regions.

To the east bordering on the Sabine were the grants of Burnet, Zavala and Vehlein united in the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company; in the central northwest, between the upper waters of the Brazos and Guadalupe rivers, lay the colonies of Robertson and Milam; and far to the south, on what was then the southern boundary of the state, the Nueces.

River, lay the third group of colonies established by the minor empresarios. A few American names appear; but in such a list they seem the outsiders, the ones whom the Mexicans have permitted to live among them. In all the other minor empresario colonies the Mexican names, when they occur, stand out as if foreigners on the soil of their own land.

Just the year before while driving mules from his ranch to the market at New Orleans, he had passed through the southern part of the state; and it was then that the tall grass of South Texas made its appeal to the ranchman. On April 8, , he petitioned the Provincial Delegation of San Fernando de Bexar, which was the government of Texas, for permission to establish himself and forty-one families at a point on the lower Guadalupe where he would found a town to be called Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Jesus Victoria.

When he had located his group on the lands desired, he was to notify the Provincial Delegation in order that the lands might be designated for the location of the town, and also that each individual might be put in possession of land for his house and field. The contract exempted the colony from duties for seven years on everything except tobacco and from excises, tithes and first fruits for ten years.

By the following spring the grassy wilderness had become the scene of a flourishing little settlement; the fields had been cleared and planted and, among other improvements, provision had been made for the watering of the herds of cattle. Upon this scene of activity appeared a new empresario, who claimed their lands. In the distribution of lands a preference shall be given to Mexican citizens, and no other distinction shall be made in regard to them, except that which may be founded on individual merit, or services rendered the country, or under equal circumstances, a residence in the place where the lands to be distributed are situated.

When was juan antonio padilla born shoes

On October 6, , Gonzales, the governor of the state, called DeWitt's attention to the second article of his contract, which stated that he should respect all possessions given to settlers who were occupying lands under legal title within the limits of his boundaries. Other colonies had definite boundaries, but his were not specified in his contract and seemed to be whatever he and his colonists occupied.

The boundaries were not established that year, but the following year, , Juan Antonio Padilla was appointed land commissioner for the colony. The boundaries for which he petitioned included his original settlement and were as follows:. Beginning at La Baca Creek, near the place where it is crossed by the middle road leading from La Bahia to Nacogdoches, and thence run one league with the said creek upwards, thence a line shall be run parallel with said road, to cross the river Guadalupe at the Lego Ford, until it strikes Coleto Creek; and thence with this creek downwards, the survey terminating at its junction with the aforesaid river Guadalupe.

The government granted his petition, but this grant also lay within DeWitt's colony and covered a considerable portion of it. In annulling the grant, the governor said that such mistakes as granting the same land to two people occurred because the government had no correct map of the state. By this time, the grant to DeWitt had expired and the government had refused to allow him an extension.

Purnell and Lovell Of Purnell and Lovell, two of the earliest contractors, it can be definitely stated that they fulfilled no part of their contract. John G. Purnell and Benjamin Drake Lovell, citizens of the United States who were living in Mexico, petitioned for a grant and received it on October 22, The colony was within the following boundaries:.

Beginning on the right bank of the river Nueces, at the boundary line of the ten coast border leagues, which are exempted by the fundamental law of the 18th of August, ; thence with said boundary line of the said Border Leagues Eastward, to a point ten leagues from the Presidio of La Bahia del Espiritu Santo; thence on a straight line to the mouth of the river Medina to its junction with that of San Antonio de Bexar; thence northward with the said river Medina, upwards, to the road which is the dividing line between Texas and Coahuila, and which leads from San Fernando de Bexar to the Presidio of Rio Grande; thence with said road westward to the river Nueces, thence down said river southward, which is the boundary line between Texas and Tamaulipas, to the place of beginning.

The Milam colony Joining Robertson's colony on the south and lying between the Colorado and Guadalupe rivers was Milam's colony. To the east of this long, narrow stretch of territory which formed the Milam grant was Stephen F. Austin's colony. Benjamin R. Milam had petitioned the Mexican government for the right to colonize Texas lands even before Austin made his first journey to Mexico.

As early as Milam was in Texas trading with the Comanches on the head waters of the Colorado. The following year found him in Mexico fighting for the patriot cause. In consideration of his services to the Republican cause, the government made him an eleven-league grant. He selected his land and opened a ranch, as he thought in East Texas; but he found that he had gone too far to the east and had located in Miller County, Arkansas.

Later he located his eleven-league grant farther west. Not until January 12, , did Milam obtain the grant to establish the colony which bears his name. The contract called for the introduction of three hundred families within the following boundaries:. Beginning at the point where the Upper San Antonio road leading from Bexar to Natchitoches crosses the river Guadalupe; thence with the said road to the river Colorado of Texas.

Thence tip said river with its right bank the distance of fifteen leagues. Thence on a straight line, parallel with the road aforesaid to the river [Guadalupe. Thence] with its left bank to the place of beginning. Wavell's colony General Arthur G. Wavell, through his attorney, Baron de Bastrop, contracted on March 9, , to introduce from four to five hundred families in a section of territory on the Red River.

The boundaries of the grant were as follows:. Beginning at the junction of the stream called Satecha or Sulphur Fork with the Red River of Natchitoches; thence with its bank upwards to its source; thence on a straight line parallel with the said Red River to the mouth of the River Kiamish, at its confluence with the aforesaid Red River; and thence with the bank of said river to place of beginning.

Benjamin Milam became Wavell's agent for the colony. The boundaries of the proposed colony were as follows:. Beginning at a landmark which shall be established at the point where the 32d N. The colony lay largely in the territory which is now New Mexico. A very small part of it was in the western border of the Panhandle of Texas. Woodbury and Vehlein and Company On November 14, , John Lucius Woodbury and Joseph Vehlein and Company were authorized to introduce two hundred families within the following boundaries:.

Beginning at the point where the western line of the colony of Robert Leftwich intersects the 31st degree of North latitude, which is between the Rivers Colorado and Brazos; thence upwards with said line, on a course northwest, to the point at which the boundary line of said grant intersects the parallel of 32 degrees North latitude. Thence the line shall run on a west course, approximating to the southern boundary of Stephen Wilson's colony, to the degree of longitude, where a land mark shall be established.

Hence on a line downwards to the point where the meridian of longitude intersects the old road leading from the Rio Grande to Bexar. Thence with said road, to the river Medina; thence tip with the right bank of said river a distance of ten leagues. From this point a straight line shall be run an cast course to the River Guadalupe; thence up the right bank of said river to the boundary line of the colony of Colonel Milam; thence on a straight line, along the boundary line of the said grant, crossing the river Colorado, to strike the western line of the colony of Leftwich at the place of beginning.

In the government gave them two additional years with which they might complete their contract, it being thus extended to An examination of the records of the Land Office reveals no evidence of their having located any families or having in any way fulfilled the obligations of their contract. Burnet , originally of New Jersey, had obtained a grant to settle three hundred families within the following boundaries:.

Beginning at the Town of Nacogdoches: Thence on a North course, the distance of fifteen leagues, to a point clear of the Twenty boundary leagues, Parallel with the river Sabine, which River, is the boundary or dividing line with the United States of the North, here a land mark shall be made, and thence a line run West to Navasoto Creek: Thence down said creek, with its meanderings b , its left bank to the place where it is crossed by the road leading from Bexar to Nacogdoches: Thence with said road, to fork of the Bull's hill road "Loma del Toro" before arriving at the Military Post on the Trinity, with said road to its junction with the old road, and with said old road to the Town, Nacogdoches, and place of beginning.

Woodbury, made his first contract with the government for three hundred families in December, , to be settled with the following boundaries:. Beginning at the Town of Nacogdoches: Thence South, leaving free Twenty boundary border leagues, parallel with the Sabine River to the intersection of the boundary line of the same, with that of the Ten coast border leagues, on the Gulf of Mexico.

Thence west to the river San Jacinto: Thence up the said river with its left bank, to its source, and thence on a straight line North to the San Antonio road leading from Bexar to Nacogdoches: Thence with said road to the town aforesaid, and previous to arriving at the River Trinity the line shall follow the road called Bull's hill road Loma del Toro crossing that river above the Military Post, and continuing on said road, until it unites with the road first mentioned and thence with it to the Town of Nacogdoches and place of beginning.

Burnet's grant and Vehlein's first grant covered a large part of the territory previously granted to Haden Edwards , whose contract had just been annulled by the state. Joseph Vehlein in received his second contract but for only one hundred families. The territory of this contract, which was contiguous with that of his first contract, extended his boundaries through the coast reserve to the Gulf of Mexico.

Its boundaries were as follows:. Beginning on the Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, at a point distant twenty leagues West of Sabine Bay: Thence northwardly on a line parallel with the river Sabine, the distance of Ten Leagues leaving between this line and said river Sabine a space of Twenty leagues in width: Thence Northwestwardly, on a line parallel with the Coast, at a distance of ten leagues from it, and following the boundary line of the Contract made with these same parties on 2oth Deer.

The third empresario of the group, Lorenzo de Zavala , a prominent Mexican citizen, contracted in March, , to introduce five hundred families. The territory included the boundary reserve between Vehlein's grants and the Sabine River. The Gulf was the southern boundary; a line run from Nacogdoches following the main road leading to Natchitoches by the way of "Las Borregas" and the ferry to the right bank of the Sabine formed the northern boundary.

When these empresarios obtained their contracts, they evidently acted in good faith and intended making an effort to fulfill them. Vehlein finding he did not have sufficient capital for the undertaking was therefore willing to combine his interests with others. This helps to explain the transfer of his grant to a company later. Realizing his lack of funds, he probably made no effort to establish a colony.

The same is probably true of Lorenzo de Zavala, as he sold his contract so soon after he obtained it. Burnet, on the other hand, made several unsuccessful attempts to establish a settlement before the uniting of the grants of Burnet, Zavala, and Vehlein in a company at a later period. While in Cincinnati in March, , attempting to obtain immigrants for his colony he thought he had a group of immigrants for his project; but suddenly he found they were about to abandon his cause.

He wrote to Stephen F. Austin: I shall remain here longer than I have heretofore contemplated in the hope that something may still be done that I may at least get one good stool pigeon for to return without would be to have come for nothing. Burnet evidently had no better success later as no colonists received grants in his colony before the organization of the company.

Zavala and Vehlein were equally unsuccessful before the organization of the company. Burnet, it seems had attempted to organize a company for colonization purposes even before the combining of the three grant in the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company in October, From Cincinnati in July , he wrote Stephen F. Austin: I am fully sensible of the necessity of being in my colony and design to repair there as soon as practicable.

The late disturbance at Mexico gave in a very serious back set from which it has been difficult to recover. I had very respectable company in full progress of formation when the news of war and revolutions and insurrections dispersed them like a hawk pouncing upon flock of pigeons. Having failed in his endeavor to establish his colony by his own efforts, Burnet, with Zavala and Vehlein, transferred his contract to the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company on October 1, The first grant was on May 21, , for one hundred families within th following boundaries:.

Beginning at the point where the parallel Of 32d degree of North latitude intersects the western boundary line of the colony of Robert Leftwich, which is between the rivers Colorado and Brazos. Thence west, on a direct line to the point where the 32 degree of North latitude intersects the degree longitude; thence North with the said meridian line of the distance twenty-one leagues; thence diagonally southeast to the western boundary line of Robert Leftwich's colony; and thence with this line to place of beginning.

Cameron's second grant was on September 10, , for the land which had the year previously been contracted for by Colonel Rueben Ross, a citizen of the United States.