On October 17, 1839, President Mirabeau B. Lamar arrived in Austin with his cabinet and the records from Houston of the Republic of Texas. Most of the 856 residents anxiously awaited the Presidents entry into the new Capitol City. Waiting to greet Lamar and his entourage was Jacob Harrell and his family who were the first to settle there. Lamar was greeted by Edwin Waller, the town’s architect, who would become Austin’s first Mayor. Thomas W. Smith, and his son James W. Smith and nine members of their family waited anxiously in line. Thomas and James Smith were lawyers appointed by Lamar to organize a new county. They would be elected in the next congress to county judge and treasurer of Travis County, which was named for the Alamo defender and commandant, William B. Travis.