The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 40, July 1936 - April, 1937 Page: 135
348 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Mercer Colony in Texas, 1844-1883
colony were not defined and marked by actual survey, as the law
required" and that the defendant (Cobb) had complied with all
the obligations necessary to entitle him to the land he claimed.
And judgment was against Melton."
During that period of time when the legislature was seeking to
grant relief to the settlers in the Mercer Colony, when "The Texas
Association" was seeking relief for its contractors before the legis-
lature and the court, and when the settlers were seeking adjust-
ments, in the courts, "The Texas Association" underwent some
changes in the personnel of its officers and in the classification
of its certificates. These changes were attended by intervals of
apparent prosperity. To begin with, upon Mercer's retirement in
1852, Hancock assumed office as chief agent and served until his
death in 1875, when, according to his will,14 his nephew, William
Preston, succeeded him as chief agent. There were three secre-
taries of "The Texas Association" from 1852 to 1883, the first
being G. Washington Anderson, who served until 1858, when
Claudius Duval assumed the office and served until 1875, and
after that "a man by the name of Clark served as secretary." In
view of the fact that Hancock and other stockholders of "The
Texas Association" assumed that the Texas Legislature would
grant their claims, Anderson wrote to the stockholders that each
share had "been assessed $100.00" to cover the charge "of sec-
tionizing the lands that may be awarded them. The expense of
survey will probably be $1,500.00 or $2,000." Confidence in
Hancock's assumption was expressed by the favorable responses
from fourteen shareholders. Anderson himself was not without
encouragement for his assumption, for, besides the favorable com-
munications from Hancock who was in Texas, influential Texans
who had been through Louisville assured the secretary of their
support. "Major Rieley en route to the Baltimore Convention"
gave assurances of his support when the matters came before the
Texas Legislature and Albert Sidney Johnston, a nephew-in-
law of Hancock, pledged his best exertion in behalf of "The
Texas Association."15 Although the original value of a share in
"8Melton vs. Cobb, 21 Texas 39, and for other questions arising under
the colony contract of Mercer, 2 Texas 1, 23; 7 Texas 384, 441. Peeler and
Maxey, History and Statement of the Mercer Colony Gase, 32-34.
"'Will of G. W. Hancock, in the records of the case, Preston vs. Walsh.
15G. Washington Anderson, August 23, 1852, to Edmund H. Taylor, in
the deposition of Thomas H. Taylor, in the records of the case, Preston
vs. Walsh.135
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 40, July 1936 - April, 1937, periodical, 1937; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101099/m1/149/: accessed May 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.