November 3, 2021 - Stephen F. Austin was born on November 3, 1793, and is remembered as the ‘Father of Texas’ because he brought the first legal and successful group of colonists to Texas. The group consisted of 300 families from the United States. His father, Moses Austin, was the original recipient of the grant after he made a trip to Spanish Texas to request it. He was attacked on his way back to Missouri and became ill and died in 1821, shortly after his return to his home. At first, Stephen was reluctant to take on the "Texas" venture of colonization, but was persuaded by a letter from his mother, Mary Brown Austin. Because of changing conditions in Mexico and Spain, Austin had to travel to Mexico for authorization to use his father’s grant. In 1823, the Mexican congress granted Austin a contract to bring 300 families into Texas with an allocation of 4,428 acres for each married man; but a stipulation was added to the original grant that each recipient must pay the state of Coahuila y Tejas thirty dollars within six years. By 1825, Austin had brought the first 300 families to The Austin Colony located along the Brazos and Colorado Rivers. This group became known as the “Old Three Hundred’ in Texas history and many descendants still live in the area of this original colony.
Austin obtained further contracts to bring 900 families between 1825 and 1829. He had effective civil and military authority over the settlers and organized small, informal armed groups to protect the colonists, some of these armed groups evolved into the Texas Rangers. The application of immigration control and the introduction of tariff laws had caused dissatisfaction in the colony and in 1833 Austin met with officials in Mexico where he gained certain important reforms. As a result, the immigration ban was lifted, but a population of 80,000 was established as the requirement before an independent state could be established. The current population was 30,000.
While Stephen F. Austin was in Mexico, there were events that propelled the colonists toward confrontation with Santa Anna's government. On his return, he took command of the Texan forces during the Siege of Bexar from October 12 to December 11, 1835. Because of this and other events, Santa Anna made rapid preparations for the Mexican army to sweep Anglo settlers from Texas. After Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto and was elected President of Texas, a position that Stephen F. Austin also sought, Houston appointed him the first Secretary of State for the Republic of Texas; however, he only served two months before his tragic death on December 17, 1836.
