The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 35, July 1931 - April, 1932 Page: 268
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
There is no doubt that Long's second expedition had a press
which was captured, and probably the printer himself, as Bangs
was in the expedition and captured, and a short time afterwards
he appeared as a printer.6
But who was Bangs and how did he get either to Texas or to
Monterey? Was Wagner correct in stating that Bangs was with
the Long Expedition? Both questions remained without an an-
swer until a letter signed by Samuel Bangs and written at Sal-
tillo in 18227 revealed the facts connected with this trip to Texas
and Mexico. Where he came from remained a mystery until a
reference of Benjamin Lundy gave a clue." Later his name ap-
peared as the publisher of the first "war" newspaper of the Mex-
ican war. It became increasingly evident that a knowledge of
the details of even twenty years of Bangs's life would throw some
light on the history of the early press in Texas and northern
Mexico. With this object in view the task of tracing his career
was begun. The search has led from Boston to Mexico City, with
many stops en route.
From Lundy's clue that Bangs was a native of Boston, some
facts of interest in connection with his life were established. He
was a son of Samuel Bangs, Jr., born in 1769, and of Harriet
Grier, also of Boston. His father died before 1800, and in that
year the will of his grandfather, Samuel Bangs, Sr., was pro-
bated. By this he left to "Samuel and Harriet Bangs, minors
under 14, children of Samuel Bangs, late of said Boston, glazier,
deceased," his property; and William Hawes was appointed their
guardian.' On November 10, 1801, a new guardian was ap-
pointed for both children still "under 14," and on August 18,
1806, a guardian was appointed for Harriet, but Samuel was no
longer mentioned. He must then have been born about 1794 of
a family prominent in the locality.
We still know nothing of Samuel's education or preparation for
business. Whether he was apprenticed is still a question. For
'MS. notes.
'Samuel Bangs, Saltillo, to Servando Teresa de Mier, Mexico, July 13,
1822. Original in the Mier Papers.
"Life, Travels, and Opinions of Benjamin Lundy (Philadelphia, 1847),
p. 154.
'Dean Dudley, History and Genealogy of the Bangs Family (Boston,
1896); Probate Records of Suffolk County, XCVIII, 696.268
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 35, July 1931 - April, 1932, periodical, 1932; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101092/m1/272/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.