Fayette Smith’s Last Battle
On April 8, 1864, thirty-two-year-old Fayette Smith from Navasota, Texas, was wounded at the Battle of Mansfield in Louisiana. Not his...
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David A. Bowles
david921866
- Mar 8
- 1 min
Conrad Meuly – 1812-1865
Swiss born merchant, Conrad Meuly, came to the Republic of Texas from New York with silk hose, scarves, and bolts of expensive fabrics....
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David A Bowles
- Aug 28, 2023
- 2 min
Austin’s First Cabinet Maker
Lorenzo Van Cleve arrived in the spring of 1839, months before the town of Austin was founded. Newly elected President Mirabeau Lamar had...
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David A Bowles
- Aug 16, 2023
- 1 min
John A. Rowland
The owner of the Taos Trading Post, John A. Rowland, paid sixty dollars in silver for the return of nine-year-old Fayette Smith. The boy...
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David A Bowles
- Aug 7, 2023
- 1 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 4, 2023
- 1 min
Sam and Mary Maverick’s Wedding
On August 4, 1836, Samuel Augustus Maverick, a signor of the Texas Declaration of Independence, married Mary Ann Adams. Mary was the...
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David A Bowles
- Jul 26, 2023
- 1 min
Death of Sam Houston
On July 26, 1863, Sam Houston died at the age of 70. He was twice President of Texas, Governor of Tennessee, and Texas. He was a United...
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David A Bowles
- Jul 24, 2023
- 1 min
Samuel Augustus Maverick
On this day in 1803, Samuel Augustus Maverick was born in Pendleton, South Carolina. He came to Texas prior to the Texas Revolution and...
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David A Bowles
- Jun 21, 2023
- 1 min
Where Does the West Begin?
Where the West begins depends on where you are, in time and place. People frequently say, “Your first book in the Westward Sagas Series®...
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Aimee Ravichandran
- Apr 14, 2023
- 1 min
Elnora’s Birthday
On April 14, 1841, Elnora Van Cleve was born in a cabin near Sixth and Congress in Austin, Texas. She would be recorded as the first...
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Aimee Ravichandran
- Jan 27, 2023
- 1 min
Judge James W. Smith
Searching for my earliest Austin family roots, IÂ discovered this Austin Gazette article dated Jan 27, 1841. The old news story from...
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David A Bowles
- Jan 22, 2023
- 2 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 10, 2023
- 1 min
Lewis Jones
While researching my earliest ancestors in Texas, I discovered a series of letters in the archives of “The Center for American History at...
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David A Bowles
- Jan 8, 2023
- 1 min
Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell 1818-1875
Born in Illinois prior to it becoming a state, Lucien’s father Hugh Maxwell was an Irish immigrant. His mother was French nobility....
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