The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 99, July 1995 - April, 1996 Page: 6
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
as he requires them ...." With Stephen on his way to Texas by land, the
plan had been for Moses to come on to New Orleans, presumably to
sign a written contract with Hawkins and to bring emigrants by sea, but
Moses died in Missouri on June lo. Hawkins learned of Moses's death
on June 27, two weeks before Stephen got the news in Natchitoches.'s
The next four months were a whirl of activity for both men. Austin
proceeded to Texas, where he met with the governor and received provi-
sional confirmation as the heir to his father's concession. He spent sev-
eral weeks exploring the grant, and by November i o he was back in New
Orleans. Hawkins, in the meantime, had been busy arranging for the on-
set of immigration. He had seen to it that announcements of Austin's
grant were published in western newspapers," and consequently word of
the enterprise was spreading. As soon as Austin arrived, he and Hawkins
located and arranged for the purchase of a small schooner, the Lively,
and began preparing it to carry the first settlers to Texas.15 "Just then
Stephen Austin and Joe Hawkins were crying up Texas-beautiful coun-
try[,] land for nothing etc.," recalled one of the settlers who had shortly
thereafter sailed from New Orleans for Texas.'6
One of Austin's tasks upon his return to New Orleans was to formal-
ize his arrangement with Hawkins. On November 14, 1821, the two men
signed a legal contract setting in writing the informal agreement that
Hawkins and Moses Austin had made previous to Moses's death. The
new written contract specified that Stephen F. Austin, as heir and agent
"Joseph H. Hawkins to Mrs. Maria Austin, June 27, 1821, Austin Papers, I, pt. 1, pp. 397 (1st
and 2nd quotations), 398 (3rd and 4th quotations). Hawkins learned of Moses Austin's death on
the day he wrote this letter. Ten days earlier Stephen had left to meet the Spanish officials in
Natchitoches. Stephen was there on July 13 when an express letter from Hawkins informed him
of his father's death. See Stephen F. Austin to Maria Austin, July 13, 1821, ibid., 401.
14 Stephen F. Austin to [Joseph H. Hawkins], July 20, 1821, Austin Papers, I, pt. 1, pp.
402-404. This letter soliciting emigrants appeared first in the Louisiana Advertiser (New Orleans)
on September 3, 1821, and later in the Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock) of October 6. It probably
appeared in other major western newspapers at about the same time.
'5 Stephen F. Austin to [Edmund H.] Martin, Sept. 14, 1832, Austin Papers, II, 859-865; [W.
S.] Lewis, "The Adventures of the 'Lively' Immigrants," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Associ-
ation, III (July, 1899), 11-12; Lester G. Bugbee, "What Became of the Lively?," Quarterly of the
Texas State Historical Association, III (Oct., 1899), 141-148. The circumstances surrounding the
purchase and outfitting of the Lively are as confusing as the subsequent fate of the ship. There is
no doubt that Hawkins played a large role in making all the arrangements concerning the Lively.
However, the only detailed account of those arrangements comes from Austin himself, many
years after the fact. Austin stated that the Lively was purchased for $6oo, of which he furnished
$400oo and Hawkins only $200oo. Hawkins paid an unknown amount for "her outfit." See Stephen F.
Austin to [Edmund H.] Martin, Sept. 14, 1832, Austin Papers, II, 86o, 861 (quotation). However,
the men shared in the costs of a portion of the supplies that went out on the ship. See Price List:
Supplies of Schooner Lively, Oct. 29, 1821, ibid., I, pt. 1, pp. 422-423 (Hawkins paid $5o and
Austin $40 on this account).
16 Angelina Eberly to Mary Austin Holley, "Notes Made by Mrs. Holley in Interviews with
Prominent Texans of the Early Days" (recopied by George W. Hill), p. 8, Mary Austin Holley Pa-
pers (CAH).July
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 99, July 1995 - April, 1996, periodical, 1996; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101217/m1/34/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.