The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 27, July 1923 - April, 1924 Page: 113
344 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Notes On the Colonization of Texas
duce.,o All of these estimates were exaggerations, of course, but
they indicate truly a great interest in the new outlet to the
southwest.
Many families took the road with no other knowledge of Texas
than they could obtain from the papers that published Austin's
announcements. Others, with more to lose by an unfortunate
change, perhaps, paused to inquire further. Was the country in-
dependent of Spain? Was it already settled or a wilderness?
What was the form of government? How were land titles ob-
tained? What facilities for commerce did the country afford?
How far was it from New Orleans? Was the settlement on the
coast? How deep were the river entrances? What was the cli-
mate, and was the country healthful? A few before 1827 asked
about the status of slavery and many about religious toleration.
For example, James T. Dunbar, of Baltimore, representing a con-
siderable group of prospective emigrants, declared that "The idea
of an established church of any particular creed would forever
banish from our minds the design of leaving our natal soil."21
Elijah Noble, representing a similar group in Lexington, Ken-
tucky, wanted to know whether the settlers would be "allowed to
worship their God agreeable to the dictates of their own minds,
etc., or will they be compd. to acknowledge the Catholic religion
as the supreme religion of the land?"22 Charles Douglas, of
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, thought that three or four hundred fam-
ilies could be enlisted there to move at once to Texas, but he
was "sorry to see that the roman catholic is the established re-
ligion and none other tolerated. This will have a bad effect upon
the minds of many good but weak people in the U. S. and (I am
afraid) will very much discourage emigration to your country."23
Few could rise to the philosophical indifference of Austin's old
neighbor in Washington County, Missouri, weighed down with
debt and pursued by executions. He had five sons of an age to
work on a farm and another coming on, and the religious restric-
20Martinez to Lopez, December 1, 1821, University of Texas Transcripts
from Department of Fomento, Mexico.
21Dunbar to Austin, December 13, 1821.
22Noble to Austin, June 29, 1822; also Ayers to Austin, June 6, 1822.
"Douglas to Austin, February 20, 1824.113
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 27, July 1923 - April, 1924, periodical, 1924; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101086/m1/119/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.