The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record, Volume 21, Number 1, November 1985 Page: 45
106 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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HENRY MILLARD, FORGOTTEN TEXIAN
Millard's optimism proved to be ill-founded. In the autumn of 1833
Mason's heirs demanded cash payment for his undivided share in the firm
of Millard and Mason, which came to nearly $7,000.23 Money was scarce,
and Millard was unable to pay. The heirs filed suit, and the dispute, which
grew more acrimonious as time went on, would last the better part of three
years.
In the meantime, Millard was to suffer a far more personal blow. On
May 30, 1834, Mary Beaumont Millard died, probably in New Orleans,
possibly in Natchez, although there is absolutely no record of her death in
either city. It is possible that at this time something also happened to the
"phantom daughter," if indeed she really existed; in October of 1834, George
Granger, Pulsifer's brother-in-law, wrote of his "sympathizing feelings
toward your Mr. Millard; he has been most severely afflicted, and might
say with Job... 'The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away...' "24
Granger's Biblical reference implies not just one, but a whole series of
disasters. Pulsifer's original letter to Granger, which obviously explained
the whole, is missing.
Millard continued to do business in New Orleans for a time, but by
the spring of 1835 he must have seen that his financial situation was hopeless.
He was still under siege in the courts over Samuel Mason's estate; moreover,
his business was not prospering as expected. At some point during this
troubled time he reencountered his old friend from Natchez, Thomas
Ruling. That spring, Millard, Huling, and Pulsifer formed a new partner-
ship, their object being to enter the mercantile business in Texas. On July
10, 1835, they set out for the new land. At least, Millard sent Huling, Pulsifer,
and a boatload of goods to Texas; "Mr. Millard," as Pulsifer said in a
letter to his sister, "could not get ready to come."25
The reason "Mr. Millard" could not get ready to come was that he
was busy preparing a petition for his attorney to present to the First Judicial
District Court of New Orleans, on behalf of "Henry Millard and of Henry
Millard & Co.,...insolvent debtors." It read, in part:
23Inventory of the Estate of Samuel Mason, Old Inventories, Vol. M (1829-1833), New Orleans
Public Library.
24George T. Granger to Joseph P. Pulsifer, October 13, 1834.
25Joseph P. Pulsifer to Lucy Pulsifer Granger, May 21, 1836.Nov. 19851
45
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Texas Gulf Historical Society. The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record, Volume 21, Number 1, November 1985, periodical, November 1985; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1433656/m1/47/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Gulf Historical Society.