The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 228
616 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
the rumor goes that General Sam Houston was among her
suitors. To Ben Milam, another, she is reported to have answered,
"I could never give my heart and hand but to one man."34 An idea
of her firmness and grace may be had from the advertisement, al-
ready mentioned, which appeared in the Brazoria Advocate of
March 27, 1834, where she announced her departure from Bra-
zoria. It reads,
Mrs. Jane H. Long takes this method of returning her unfeigned
thanks to the citizens of Brazoria and vicinity for the very liberal
patronage bestowed on her during her two years of keeping a public
house ... and informs them that she has retired from business ...
Mr. M. W. Smith, having purchased the entire concern and being
aided by Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson, she has no hesitation in recom-
mending them to the public.35
While Mrs. Long was refusing her hand to admirers, Mrs.
Mann was enjoying the companionship of her third husband.
Before her career was over she was to marry a fourth. And in the
atmosphere of the boarding houses operated by these two women
one sees a reflection of this difference in personality. It is obvious
also in the contrast between the relatively quiet character of
Stephen F. Austin, who so often visited Mrs. Long, and the exhi-
bitionist nature of Sam Houston, familiar enough with Mrs.
Mann to rest his head on her lap-on one occasion-so that she
might comb his hair.*6 Still another comparison of the two women
and their homes might be measured by the contrast between the
unostentatious atmosphere of Mrs. Long's Brazoria, and the rowdy,
boomtown, gambling air of the new village of Houston where
Mrs. Mann ran her most successful inn. The two towns, them-
selves, invite a comparative analysis.
Noah Smithwick relates that it was in the two districts of Fort
Bend (later Richmond) and Brazoria that the majority of Austin's
first colonists were located, most of them being persons of means
who owned slaves and plantations."' The route between Austin's
headquarters in San Felipe and Brazoria, according to another
84Harrison, Jane Long, the Mother of Texas (MS., Archives, University of Texas
Library), 66.
a5Advocate of the People's Rights (Brazoria), March 27, 1834.
s6Boatright (ed.), Mexican Border Ballads and Other Lore, 115.
87Smithwick, The Evolution of a State, 36.228
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/249/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.