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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 13, 2007 20:54:53 GMT -5
November 13 in Texas History..... "Chipita" sentenced to death
On this day in 1863, Josefa (Chipita) Rodríguez was sentenced to death for the murder of John Savage in San Patricio de Hibernia. Rodríguez, for many years believed to be the only woman legally hanged in Texas, furnished travelers with meals and a cot on the porch of her lean-to on the Aransas River. She was accused of killing Savage while seeking to rob him of $600 in gold, but the gold was found in the river north of San Patricio, where Savage's body was discovered in a burlap bag. Nonetheless, she and Juan Silvera (who may have been her illegitimate son) were indicted on circumstantial evidence and tried before Fourteenth District Court judge Benjamin F. Neal at San Patricio. After Chipita pleaded not guilty, the jury recommended mercy, but Neal ordered her executed. At the time, Chipita was described as "very old" or "about ninety," but was probably in her sixties. At least one witness to the hanging claimed he later heard a moan from the coffin, which was placed in an unmarked grave, and her ghost is said to haunt the area, especially when a woman is sentenced to be executed. She is pictured as a specter with a noose around her neck, wailing from the riverbottoms. She has been the subject of two operas, numerous books, newspaper articles, and magazine accounts. .....Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 14, 2007 1:54:42 GMT -5
November 14 in Texas History..... AUSTIN TO CONSULTATION 14 Nov 1835 Headquarters, before Bejar, November 14, 1835 To The Consultation of Texas. I have the satisfaction to inform you that since my last, some important advantages have been gained over the enemy. Captain Travis has taken three hundred head of horses, that were sent out of Bejar to Loredo.-They are poor horses; and were taken about forty miles from this place. The enemy is closely shut up in Bejar, and more and more discouraged every day. All we need is preseverance, and re-inforcements to keep up the army. I entreat the Convention to hurry on re-inforcements with all possible dispatch, and [torn] paign will soon end. There is very little prospect that the enemy will get any aid from the interior Respectfully your obedient servant, S. F. Austin ......Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 15, 2007 19:13:25 GMT -5
November 15 in Texas History..... Lorenzo de Zavala dies On this day in 1836, Lorenzo de Zavala, the first vice president of the Republic of Texas, died. Zavala was born in 1788 in Mexico. His support of democratic reforms led to his imprisonment in 1814 in Veracruz, where he gained enough knowledge from reading medical textbooks to qualify him to practice medicine upon his release in 1817. He also taught himself to read English during his imprisonment. In the early 1820s he helped establish a republican government in newly independent Mexico, but due to Federalist-Centralist strife was forced into exile in 1830. Zavala returned to Mexico in 1832 and was named by President Antonio López de Santa Anna to serve as the first minister plenipotentiary of the Mexican legation in Paris. When he learned that Santa Anna had assumed dictatorial powers in 1834, Zavala denounced his former ally, resigned his post, and eventually went to Texas. Although he first advocated the cause of Mexican Federalism, he soon became an active supporter of the independence movement. Zavala's legislative, executive, ministerial, and diplomatic experience, together with his education and linguistic ability, uniquely qualified him for the role he was to play in the drafting of the constitution of the Republic of Texas. Under the Treaties of Velasco Zavala was appointed a peace commissioner to accompany Santa Anna to Mexico City, but returned to his home in poor health shortly thereafter. He resigned the vice presidency on October 17, 1836. Less than a month later, soaked and half-frozen by a norther after his rowboat overturned in Buffalo Bayou, he developed pneumonia and died. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 16, 2007 17:10:58 GMT -5
November 16 in Texas History..... Republic of Texas signs its last Indian treaty On this day in 1845, the Republic of Texas concluded its last Indian treaty. The agreement marked the end of the Tehuacana Creek Councils, which began in the spring of 1843, when Jesse Chisholm helped convince a number of Indian groups, including the Caddos, Tawakonis, Delawares, Lipan Apaches, and Tonkawas, to meet on Tehuacana Creek near the Torrey Brothers trading post south of present Waco. A second council met at Fort Bird on the Trinity River in the fall of 1843. These councils resulted in a peace treaty between the Republic and the Wacos, Caddos, and other smaller groups, but the absence of the Comanches caused President Sam Houston to call another council to meet at Tehuacana Creek in April 1844. The April council convened without the Comanches, but by October 9, 1844, Houston had negotiated a treaty with a part of the southern Comanches, Kichais, Wacos, Caddos, Anadarkos, Hainais, Delawares, Shawnees, Cherokees, Lipan Apaches, and Tawakonis. At the November 1845 council the Wacos, Tawakonis, Kichais, and Wichitas agreed to the treaty of October 9, 1844. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Bromhead24 on Nov 16, 2007 18:16:28 GMT -5
Ted, do you know the details of the treaty?
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 18, 2007 2:01:43 GMT -5
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Post by neferetus on Nov 18, 2007 12:59:12 GMT -5
Another one gone... After ten years of preparation and at a cost of $4000,000, the Texas Clipper, formerly the U.S.S. Queens was sunk yesterday off Texas' South Pade Island to create an artificial reef. The Texas Wildlife Commission expects the sunken ship will attract both fishermen and divers to the area. The U.S.S. Queens started her life as a troop transport in WWII and took part in both the taking of of Iwo Jima and the occupation of Japan.
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 18, 2007 19:16:23 GMT -5
Charles Morgan introduces steamship service to Texas
On this day in 1837, the steamship Columbia arrived at New Orleans in the first recorded voyage of the Morgan Lines, the first steamship line in Texas. The Columbia made its inaugural voyage to Galveston a week later. Originated by shipping and railroad magnate Charles Morgan, the Morgan Lines introduced Morgan's economic influence into the Gulf region. In 1849, rebelling against port charges at Lavaca, Morgan built Powderhorn, which grew into Indianola and was for a time a chief port of the line. In 1858 the Morgan Lines had three sailings a week from Galveston and two from New Orleans, and by 1860 the company had a monopoly on coastal shipping. During the Civil War all of the vessels of the line were commandeered, either by the United States or by the Confederate States. The Morgan Steamship Company took an active part in building railroads after the war to feed the ship lines. In the 1870s pooling agreements were worked out among Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company, the Louisiana Western Railroad Company, and the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. In the late 1870s Morgan worked with E. W. Cave to make Houston an inland port with better facilities for the line. In the late 1870s or early 1880s the Morgan Lines were sold to C. P. Huntington of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The fleet was sold to the United States Maritime Commission in 1941. .....Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 18, 2007 21:56:07 GMT -5
This was in the This day in History thread and now moved, thought it was important enough to highlite there for that day! 1835 : Ohioans come to the aid of Texas with "Twin Sisters" On this day in 1835, the people of Cincinnati, Ohio, decided to aid the cause of the Texas Revolution by raising funds to procure two cannons. Since the United States was taking an official stance of neutrality toward the rebellion in Texas, the citizens of Cincinnati referred to their cannon as "hollow ware." Two guns, probably six pounders, were manufactured at the foundry of Greenwood and Webb in Cincinnati and then shipped down the Mississippi to New Orleans. The cannons arrived in Galveston at the beginning of April 1836, accompanied by the family of a Dr. Charles Rice. The guns were presented to representatives of Texas under the sponsorship of Dr. Rice's twin daughters, Elizabeth and Eleanor. Someone in the crowd made notice of the fact that there were two sets of twins in the presentation, the girls and the guns, and thus the cannons became the Twin Sisters. The guns went into action on April 20, and, under the command of George W. Hockley, supported the infantry assault the next day at the battle of San Jacinto. Along with the Gonzales "come and take it" cannon, the Twin Sisters are among the most famous weapons of the Texas Revolution.
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 19, 2007 17:12:00 GMT -5
November 19 in Texas History..... Houston joins church On this day in 1854, Texas hero Sam Houston joined Independence Baptist Church and was baptized in nearby Little Rocky Creek by Rufus C. Burleson. Houston joined at the urging of his wife, Margaret Moffette Lea Houston, and her mother, Nancy Moffette Lea. A deeply religious woman, Margaret Houston worked hard to restrain Houston's drinking and to lead him to a more settled and devout life. The church, located in Independence, Washington County, was organized in 1839 by Rev. Thomas Spraggins and a small group of fellow Baptists. The devout Mrs. Lea, who had moved to Independence in 1852, sold her silverware and gave the money to the church for a bell. Though the current building dates only to 1872, the pew in which Sam Houston sat has been preserved and is marked so that visitors can see it. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 21, 2007 20:58:18 GMT -5
November 21 in Texas History.... Robertson party sets out from Tennessee to explore Leftwich grant
On this day in 1825, thirty-two men under Dr. Felix Robertson set out from Nashville, Tennessee, to explore Robert Leftwich's grant in Texas. Leftwich, a Virginia-born empresario, was a member of the Texas Association, a group of Nashville investors who sought to obtain a colonization grant from Mexico, but had obtained a contract in his own name. Leftwich transferred the contract to the Texas Association in August 1825 on condition that the territory should thereafter be referred to as Leftwich's Grant. Ill health prevented Leftwich from accompanying the Robertson expedition to Texas. The party explored the country along the Brazos, Little, Leon, Lampasas, Salado, and San Gabriel rivers before returning to Tennessee in April 1826. In the spring of 1830, Sterling C. Robertson, who had been part of the expedition, and his partner Alexander Thomson Jr. began recruiting families to come to Texas, but were prevented by the Law of April 6, 1830, from settling them on Leftwich's Grant. Instead, they settled in Stephen F. Austin's colony. In 1831 Austin and Samuel May Williams filed for the land originally granted to Leftwich, though three years later the governor cancelled the Austin and Williams contract and awarded a new contract to Sterling C. Robertson as empresario. Afterward, the area was called Robertson's colony. ......Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 22, 2007 17:26:02 GMT -5
November 22 in Texas History..... Stephen F. Austin hires builder On this day in 1821, James Beard (or Baird), one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, signed an agreement with Austin to come to Texas on the Lively and to work for him until December 1822 at building cabins and a stockade and cultivating five acres of corn. Beard was a saddler from St. Louis, Missouri, who was later known as "Deaf" Beard. He joined Austin in New Orleans on June 18, 1821, and accompanied him on the Beaver to Natchitoches, Louisiana, and thence to Texas. According to the terms of the agreement, Austin was to provide tools, provisions, a section of land, and a town lot. Beard served as a cook and steward aboard the Lively and was left in command of the vessel while some of the passengers explored the Brazos River. On August 10, 1824, he received a sitio of land and settled on the San Bernard River in what later became Fort Bend County. The census of 1826 listed Beard as a single man aged between twenty-five and forty. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 23, 2007 15:43:32 GMT -5
November 23 in Texas History..... Self-styled Baron de Bastrop born in Dutch Guiana On this day in 1759, Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel, one of the most important and colorful figures in the history of the colonization of Texas, was born in Dutch Guiana. Bögel moved to Holland with his parents in 1764, and in 1779 enlisted in the cavalry of Holland and Upper Issel. He claimed to have left the Netherlands in 1793 due to the French invasion of Holland, but actually left to avoid trial on charges of embezzlement of tax funds. Bögel decamped to Spanish Louisiana, where he adopted the title Baron de Bastrop and represented himself as a Dutch nobleman. After Louisiana was sold to the United States in 1803, Bastrop moved to Spanish Texas and was permitted to establish a colony between Bexar and the Trinity River. In 1806 he settled in San Antonio, where he had a freighting business and gained influence with the inhabitants and officials. In 1820, Bastrop convinced Governor Antonio María Martínez to approve Moses Austin's project to establish an Anglo-American colony in Texas. Bastrop also served as intermediary with the Mexican government for Stephen F. Austin. Beginning in 1824, Bastrop served in the state legislature of Coahuila and Texas. He died in 1827 and was buried in Saltillo. Though his pretensions to nobility were not universally accepted at face value even in his own lifetime, he earned respect as a diplomat and legislator. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 24, 2007 15:55:49 GMT -5
November 24 in Texas History ;D Republic of Texas authorizes Texas Rangers On this day in 1835, Republic of Texas lawmakers instituted a special force known as the Texas Rangers. Stephen F. Austin had hired ten experienced frontiersmen as "rangers" as early as 1823, but the 1835 legislation formalized the organization. The importance of the rangers has waxed and waned several times over the ensuing century and a half. They participated in many notable battles with various Indian tribes and fought ably in the Mexican War; they also were dispatched to restore order during various feuds, border disturbances, and civic upheavals. In the early twentieth century, however, numerous acts of brutality and debauchery committed by rangers, especially against Hispanics, were brought to light, in large part through the efforts of J. T. Canales, and in 1933 governor Miriam A. Ferguson fired all forty-four rangers for their partisan support of her opponent Ross Sterling. When the Texas Department of Public Safety was founded in 1935, it assumed responsibility for a greatly reduced force. In subsequent decades, however, the rangers have once again come to be recognized as the elite of Texas law enforcement. Legendary rangers are honored in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 25, 2007 20:07:24 GMT -5
November 25 in Texas History..... First Texas Navy created On this day in 1835, the first Texas Navy was established when the General Council authorized the purchase of four schooners and granted letters of marque and reprisal to privateers until the ships were armed. Established to protect the supply line to New Orleans, the navy included the 60-ton Liberty, the 125-ton Independence, the 125-ton Brutus, and the 125-ton Invincible. All four ships were lost by mid-1837, and the Texas Navy virtually ceased to exist until March 1839, when the first ship of the second navy was commissioned. A cruise ending in July 1843 marked the end of the operative career of the Texas Navy, as a truce with Mexico came that summer and the United States undertook to protect Texas until annexation. In June 1846 the ships of the Texas Navy were transferred to the United States Navy. The officers of the Texas Navy desired to be included in the transfer, but seniority-minded United States naval officers opposed the proposal. In 1857 the claims of the surviving Texas Navy officers were settled, and the Texas Navy was no more. ......Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 26, 2007 17:34:35 GMT -5
November 26 in Texas History..... Texans win Grass Fight On this day in 1835, Texan forces defeated a Mexican column in the so-called Grass Fight. The Texas army besieging San Antonio was informed at mid-morning that Mexican cavalrymen with pack animals were approaching. Thinking that the column might be carrying pay for the Mexican army, the Texans attacked with cavalry and infantry. Gen. Martín Perfecto de Cos, commander of the Mexican garrison in San Antonio, sent out infantrymen and an artillery piece. The Texans eventually drove the Mexicans back. Texas losses included four wounded, while Mexican losses numbered three dead and fourteen wounded. The pack train, the Texans discovered, was carrying only grass for the Mexican army animals. ......Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 26, 2007 17:38:21 GMT -5
November 26 in Texas History..... Kuykendall family enters Texas On this day in 1821, Austin Colony pioneer Abner Kuykendall and his family crossed the Brazos River into Texas via the La Bahía Road. The Kuykendall party also included Abner's wife Sarah and sons Barzillai, Gibson, Jonathan, and William; his brother Joseph and Joseph's wife Rosanna; his father-in-law William Gates; and his brother-in-law Amos Gates. At Nacogdoches they were joined by another brother, Robert H. Kuykendall Sr. The three brothers were among the first of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists. ;D .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 29, 2007 16:52:06 GMT -5
November 29 in Texas History..... Newspaper publisher authorized to outfit privateers On this date in 1835, Samuel Whiting, who later published a number of newspapers in Texas during the period of the republic, was granted six blank commissions or letters of marque to outfit privateers at New Orleans. Just four days previously, the General Council had passed a bill providing for the issuance of letters of marque to privateers until the first Texas Navy should become a reality. Whiting and others were taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the embryonic Republic of Texas to entrepreneurs who wanted to serve their country on the high seas by accosting Mexican vessels. Letters of marque were later issued by the Confederacy to Texans who wanted to do similar duty against Union vessels. Charles DeMontel, for instance, was officially authorized in 1863 to command the steamer Texas, a privately owned vessel of the Confederate States. During the early days of the republic, the Texas government even authorized an official flag for registered civil vessels and vessels sailing under letters of marque and reprisal. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 30, 2007 17:04:49 GMT -5
November 30 in Texas History..... Sam Houston welcomes Mobile Grays to Texas
On this day in 1835, Gen. Sam Houston welcomed David N. Burke's Mobile Grays to San Antonio, commending "the manly and liberal feelings which have been manifested by you in the tender of your services in behalf of Texas." The Grays, a company of about thirty volunteers, were organized in Mobile by James Butler Bonham, Albert C. Horton, and S. P. St. John and placed under Burke's command. In December, upon the army's reorganization for the Matamoros expedition of 1835-36, the group, enlarged by transfers from the New Orleans Greys, proceeded to Goliad and became part of the Second Battalion of the Provisional Regiment of Volunteers under James W. Fannin Jr. One member was killed in action on March 19. Three escaped, four were spared, and thirty were killed in the Goliad Massacre on March 27. .....Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Dec 3, 2007 1:24:18 GMT -5
December 2 in Texas History..... "Angel of San Antonio" weds longtime love On this day in 1880, Lottie Deno married Frank Thurmond in Silver City, New Mexico. Deno was born, most likely as Carlotta J. Thompkins, in Kentucky in 1844. After her father, a wealthy planter, was killed in the Civil War, her mother and sister sent Lottie to Detroit to find a husband, but Lottie, who had spent much time in casinos with her father, instead began a career as a professional gambler. She came to San Antonio in 1865 and became a house gambler at the University Club, where she became known as the "Angel of San Antonio." She also fell in love with Frank Thurmond, who went to West Texas after allegedly killing a man in an altercation during a game. Lottie soon followed him, gambling her way around West Texas before settling in Fort Griffin, where Frank was living under the alias Mike Fogerty. In Fort Griffin she began calling herself Lottie Deno. By 1877 she and Frank had moved on to New Mexico. From 1882 until Lottie's death in 1934, they lived in Deming, New Mexico, as upstanding and respected citizens. Frank became vice president of the Deming National Bank. Lottie gave up gambling and became a founding member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church of Deming. She was the prototype for Miss Kitty in the television series "Gunsmoke" and the subject of a 1959 biography by amateur historian J. Marvin Hunter. .....And so the Texas Histoey goes
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