The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 58
330 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern, Historical Quarterly
The colonists were in charge of the adventurous lieutenant and
Sir Edward Belcher, also of the British Navy, afterward an ad-
miral. Belcher was special agent from the company, and Macken-
zie was (according to his son Alistair Mackenzie) in charge from
the "government." The younger man was to remain a'ter the elder
had returned to England with the avowed purpose of bringing out
more settlers.
Sir Edward was not like the admiral in "Pinafore." "Stick to
your books and never go to sea, and you'll all be captain of the
Queen's Navy." -Ie had been quite around the globe before he
stopped off at Texas. Hie was a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia,
had entered the British navy during the wvar of 1812, and had
been made midshipman at the bombardment of Algiers. As the
commander of the Aetna he surveyed the coast of Africa, and sailed
later about the Irish seas and about the coasts of North and South
America on similar expeditions. He returned by way of the Pacific
ocean, landing in Singapore October of 1840. He was ordered
back to China because of the war and was engaged on the Canton
River. When he arrived in England two years later, he had al-
ready been advanced to post rank and had been decorated with
the C. B. He was now honored with knighthood, and that same
year published a voluminous work on his voyages and experiences.
He returned to the Orient and stayed there until 1848, but his
biographers skip the following four years and. speak next of the
polar expedition which he commanded to the Arctic in search of
Sir John Franklin. During a part of this 1848-52 period Sir
Edward Belcher was in Texas. It is probable that he came to
Texas on the same ship on which the first colonists arrived. At
any rate he was on hand to make arrangements for them when
they landed at Galveston.
The immigrants left England on September 2nd, coming from
Liverpool on the sail-boat John Garron. The voyage was a pro-
pitious one, for at least two of the passengers, at any rate. One
of the two happened to be the young lieutenant, who was hand-
some and whose life had been one of romance and adventure for
some years before he came out to Texas.
He was one of the Mackenzies of Kilcoy and had lived in his
early days at Belmedulthy House. Both places are in the Black
Isles. He was heir to those properties which belonged to the
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926, periodical, 1926; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117141/m1/66/?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.