Stephen F.
Austin Biographical Sketch carried East Texas, the Red River region, and most of the soldiers' votes.
Born in 1793 in Virginia, Stephen F. Austin’s family moved to the lead
mining region in present-day Missouri when he was five. Well educated,
Austin’s family sent him to Yale University to study when he was ten years
old. He graduated from Transylvania University in Kentucky in 1810. When
he returned from Kentucky, he took over the family mining business.
From 1813–1819, Austin served on the legislature of the Missouri Territory.
In 1820, after the mining business failed, he sought new opportunity in
Arkansas Territory. Later that year, he moved to Louisiana to study law. In
1821, Austin’s father died near San Antonio, Texas. Austin traveled to San
Antonio in the hopes of reauthorizing a land grant in Texas that had been
given to his father. Austin then explored areas of the Gulf Coast of Texas in
between San Antonio and the Brazos River in the hopes of finding a suitable
place for starting a colony.
Austin advertised the opportunity for settlement and land in Texas in New
Orleans. In December of 1821, the first colonists came from Louisiana to
Texas. This group was known as the “Old 300.” By 1832, the area had 11,000
colonists. Despite the colony’s explosive growth, Austin was not making
much money, and the Mexican authorities that gave him the land had
become less cooperative as America continued in its efforts to buy Texas
from them. In 1834, Austin was arrested by Mexican authorities for
insurrection. In the meantime, the Texans demanded tariff reform, removal
of immigration restrictions, and a new state government. The Mexican
government refused, and Texas proclaimed its independence. The war that
followed resulted in Texas becoming an independent republic in 1836.
On June 10, 1836, Austin was in New Orleans, where he received word of
Santa Anna's defeat by Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto. Austin
returned to Texas to rest at Peach Point in August. On August 4, he
announced his candidacy for president of Texas. Austin felt confident he
could win the election until two weeks before the election, when on August
20, Houston entered the race. Austin wrote, "Many of the old settlers who
are too blind to see or understand their interest will vote for him." Houston
Austin received 587 votes to Sam Houston's 5,119 and Henry Smith's 743
votes.
Houston would appoint Austin as the first secretary of state of the new
republic; however, Austin only served approximately two months before his
death.
In December 1836, Austin was in the new capital of Columbia (now known
as West Columbia) where he caught a severe cold; his condition worsened.
Doctors were called in, but could not help him. Austin died of pneumonia at
noon on December 27, 1836. He was at the home of George B. McKinstry,
near what is now West Columbia, Texas. He was 43. Austin's last words
were "The independence of Texas is recognized! Don't you see it in the
papers?..." Upon hearing of Austin's death, Houston ordered an official
statement proclaiming: "The Father of Texas is no more; the first pioneer of
the wilderness has departed." Originally, Austin was buried at Gulf Prairie
Cemetery in Brazoria County, Texas. In 1910 Austin's body was reinterred at
the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
Austin never married, nor did he have any children. He bequeathed all his
land, titles, and possessions, to his married sister, Emily Austin Perry.
The following resources were used in creating this sketch of Stephen F.
Austin:
Mr. Nussbaum’s Class Website:
http://mrnussbaum.com/pioneers/stephen_f_austin/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_F._Austin