Angelina Eberly Hosts the President
On the evening of October 18, 1839, Angelina Eberly prepared a meal for the President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau Lamar, and his...
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David A. Bowles
david921866
Oct 17, 20231 min
President Lamar Arrives in Austin
On October 17, 1839, President Mirabeau B. Lamar arrived in Austin with his cabinet and the records from Houston of the Republic of...
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David A Bowles
Sep 10, 20231 min
The Grandmother I Never Knew
The Spanish Flu killed my grandmother Gladys Whitt-Puryear (pictured above). She was born 1895 in Travis County, Texas. She married my...
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David A Bowles
Aug 12, 20231 min
Battle of Plum Creek
On August 12, 1840, the largest Indian battle ever fought on Texas soil took place on Plum Creek in Caldwell County. The battle between...
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David A Bowles
Aug 11, 20231 min
Dr. Joseph W. Robertson
Dr. Robertson, a First Footer of the new town of Austin, arrived in the fall of 1839. He represented Bastrop County in the fourth session...
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David A Bowles
Aug 9, 20231 min
William H. Cushney 1819-1852
New York born William H. Cushney 1819-1852 became a “First Footer of the Republic of Texas” in 1840. He served in the Texas Army before...
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David A Bowles
Aug 7, 20231 min
Travis County Treasurer Killed in 1841
On August 7, 1841, the mutilated body of Travis County Treasurer, Thomas W. Smith was found outside the town limits of Austin. Sheriff...
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David A Bowles
Aug 6, 20231 min
James Burke
James Burke of Natchez, Mississippi caught Texas fever in 1837. Burke sold his thriving business and headed to Texas. First clerking for...
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David A Bowles
Jul 17, 20231 min
Death of Clara Driscoll
On July 17, 1945, the Savior of the Alamo, Clara Driscoll, died at the age of 64. Texans knew her for saving the Alamo, philanthropist,...
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David A Bowles
May 19, 20231 min
When the Rains Came
As a young boy, during the drought of the 50’s, I remember walking across the dry Pedernales Riverbed from the Bowles Ranch to the Turner...
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David A Bowles
May 3, 20231 min
Austin’s First Federal Buildings
In the spring of 1839, lumber for the first permanent Capitol of Texas had been cut and hauled from Bastrop to the building site at West...
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David A Bowles
Feb 21, 20231 min
Joseph Lee – 1810-1891
Attorney Joseph Lee arrived in 1840 to Austin as the three centers of government, city, county and Republic of Texas, were being...
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David A Bowles
Feb 17, 20231 min
Last Vice President of the Republic of Texas Dies
Kenneth Lewis Anderson of San Augustine County was elected to The Texas House of Representatives in 1841. A protégé of President Sam...
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Aimee Ravichandran
Jan 27, 20231 min
Judge James W. Smith
Searching for my earliest Austin family roots, I discovered this Austin Gazette article dated Jan 27, 1841. The old news story from...
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David A Bowles
Jan 22, 20232 min
Sam Houston’s Letter
This is a letter that Sam Houston wrote to his wife, Margaret the day after Fayette Smith was captured by Comanche Indians. Sam Houston...
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David A Bowles
Jan 18, 20232 min
Spring House
The first book in the Westward Sagas was named Spring House because most of the important scenes in the story took place in a spring...
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David A Bowles
Jan 12, 20231 min
Dr. Joseph William Robertson
Dr. Robertson, a First Footer of the new town of Austin, arrived in the fall of 1839. He represented Bastrop County in the fourth session...
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David A Bowles
Jan 6, 20232 min
The Last Cattle Drive in Travis County
Family and friends gathered at the home of John W. Bowles on the Old Ferry Road in Spicewood, Texas. A drought in 1946 lowered Lake...
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David A Bowles
Jan 2, 20231 min
Death of Austin’s First Daughter
On January 2, 1900, Elnora Van Cleve-Brown died at her home near the confluence of the Pedernales and Colorado Rivers in Travis County,...
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David A Bowles
Nov 23, 20221 min
An Empire Is Born
On a cold November day in 1838, Mirabeau Lamar discovered the location he desired to establish his empire.
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