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Monday, January 30, 2017
Page #10
Texas History Minute: southern and eastern Texas. The younger Austin went south into the newly established Arkansas Territory, which had just been separated from the Missouri Territory as Missouri headed to statehood. Austin scraped together money to buy land near the Arkansas River near the potential location of the Dr. Ken Bridges new territorial capital. The move from Arkansas Post near the Dr. Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor. He Mississippi River to the location of Little Rock in the central part of can be reached at the territory reaped huge dividends drkenbridges@gmail.com. for Austin. He continued to invest History knows Stephen F. Austin in real estate and businesses across as one of the great heroes of Texas Arkansas and eventually settled in History. So often in life, a twist of Hempstead County, in the fate or one simple decision can southwestern portion of the push a man in a completely territory. different direction. As it turns out, the “Father of Texas,” as Austin By October, Territorial Secretary has been called, almost became one Robert Crittenden was anxious to of the great figures of Arkansas solidify his own power base in History instead. Arkansas. Though the newly appointed territorial governor had Stephen Fuller Austin was born in yet to even show up in Arkansas, Austinville, Virginia, in 1793. He Crittenden took up the role of was one of five children, two of acting governor energetically, whom died in childhood. His organizing political offices and father, Moses Austin, established putting his own stamp on affairs. the community as he sought to Crittenden called for an election develop a lead mine in the area. for November 20, a little more However, after a few years, the than six weeks away, for the mine played out and the family territorial legislature and for a moved west. Eventually, they territorial delegate to Congress. settled in Missouri, where Moses James Woodson Bates, a Virginia Austin established a new lead native, lawyer, and ally of mining community west of the Crittenden jumped into the race Mississippi River. However, it was for delegate. Though it was a nonstill Spanish territory for six more voting position, the territory-wide years until the Louisiana Purchase posting carried much prestige. in 1803. Austin was caught off guard by the His father sent him to a private announcement and delayed boarding school in 1804. A few making a decision about running years later, Austin attended but ultimately decided to jump Transylvania University in eastern into the race, making it a total of Kentucky, where he graduated in six candidates. Austin 1810. He rejoined his family campaigned energetically in the shortly afterward. In 1814, he ran abbreviated campaign, but his late for a seat in the Missouri entry caused his name to be left Territorial Legislature, winning off the ballot in two of the five decisively. At the age of 21, he existing counties in Arkansas at was barely old enough to vote, the time. It was a close race, with much less to hold a seat in the Bates receiving 32.1% of the vote legislature. to 26.2% for runner-up Austin. In 1819, the economic panic of that year destroyed the Austin family businesses. The elder Austin went to Mexico and received a massive land grant from the Spanish government to bring settlers into
After the arrival of Territorial Governor James Miller, he took notice of Austin and appointed him as a district judge in the summer of 1820. Though Austin was not formally a lawyer, he
accepted graciously. Austin served as a judge for a little over a month before deciding to move on to other opportunities. He resigned his judgeship and went south to New Orleans where he studied law and learned about his father’s ideas about bringing American settlers into Texas. After his father died in 1821, Austin took up his land
claims in Texas, bringing in hundreds of families by 1828, ably governing an increasingly prosperous colony. Within a few years, he played a decisive role in events leading to Texas seeking its independence from Mexico. By the time of his death on December 27, 1836, he was considered to be the “Father of Texas.”
