The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, July 1959 - April, 1960 Page: 631
684 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
The writers of this book are descendants of George Fisher, and
they have compiled his biography in the first 166 pages of the
work. The remainder of the book is historical and genealogical
treatment of the families of Fisher's first wife and of those of
his sons.
George Fisher is remembered as the Mexican customs collector
at Anahuac whose decree of November, 1831, requiring shippers
in Austin's colony to pay customs and secure clearance papers at
Anahuac, led to the early development of hostilities against him
and the other Mexican officials during the critical days of 1831-
1832 prior to the outbreak of the Texas Revolution. This episode,
enough to earn for Fisher the undying enmity of Texan patriots,
was only an interlude in a long and adventuresome career of a
man whose early years in Europe were shrouded in mystery and
intrigue. After coming to America from Hungary in 1815, the
young Serbian adopted the name Fisher and settled in Mississippi.
The wide range of abilities and activities of this controversial
man included those of Mississippi planter; officer in the Mexican
army; founder of Masonic Lodges in Mexico, Texas, and Panama;
merchant; translator; publisher of the Federalist newspaper
Mercurio in Matamoros; justice of the peace in Harris County;
city recorder for Houston; and secretary of the California Land
Commission from 1852 to 1856. Appointed Greek consul in San
Francisco by the king of Greece in 1870, Fisher died in San
Francisco on June 11, 1873, a respected and accomplished Amer-
ican citizen.
Fisher's biographers have tried to delineate anew his role in
Texas history; they have removed some of the odium that has
surrounded his name. His role at Anahuac is described simply
as that of a loyal Mexican officer who refused to countermand an
order of a superior, while his Federalist activities on behalf of
the Mexican Constitution of 1824 are favorably compared with
a similar role played by Stephen F. Austin. In fact, the writers
of this book maintain that the two men had the same objectives
for Texas, that of a state in the Mexican Federation, until the
dictatorial ambitions of General Antonio L6pez de Santa Anna
became apparent to all.
Fisher himself was concerned about what historians would have
to say about his role in Texas history. In September, 1839, he631
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, July 1959 - April, 1960, periodical, 1960; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101186/m1/773/?rotate=90: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.