The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record, Volume 21, Number 1, November 1985 Page: 60
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60 THE TEXAS GULF HISTORICAL & BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
General of the Texas Militia but had withdrawn from the race before the
election, leaving the victory to his fellow Natchez resident, Felix Huston.66
In August of 1840, Millard tried again. He wrote to President Mirabeau
Lamar, asking to be appointed as Commissary of Subsistence to the Texas
Army. It was an appropriate choice; as a storekeeper, he was accustomed
to dealing in goods and supplies. His real reasons for applying, however,
he stated frankly in the letter:..."the only motive that induces me to apply
to your Excellency for the above appointment is a belief that I could make
myself more useful in a military than in a civil capacity[,] Military Service
being more congenial to my disposition and feelings, than any other oc-
cupation in life."67 Millard did not receive the appointment. The Poet Presi-
dent probably wanted no Houston partisan in any high position.
Millard's ambitions were being frustrated in another area, too. Far from
getting rich quickly, as he and so many others like him had dreamed, he
was experiencing a recurring cash shortage. Land sales were slow, and the
simple fact of the matter was that, although his possessions were substan-
tial, Millard was actually land-poor. "Times are cursed hard," he complained
to Huling in May, 1840, ^and I know not what we shall do to make them
Better - if you can turn over Land Claims to satisfy our debts I am perfectly
willing to make any Sacrifice you may think proper to liquidate them."68
By the fall of that year, Millard had had enough of life in the quiet
little town on the Neches. He resigned his position as Chief Justice of the
Jefferson County Commissioners' Court, being succeeded in office by his
brother, D. J. Otho Millard.69 He then deeded his undivided one-third
interest in the town of Beaumont to Joseph Pulsifer, but, according to the
deed, no money changed hands - doubtless a precaution against seizure
by creditors. He also sold his little sloop, The Lady of the Lake, to Pulsifer
for $200.70 A move was in the making.
By this time, Millard had become skilled in protecting his property from
creditors. In February of 1840, Alfred Millard, her lawful owner in Loui-
66W. N. Bate, General Sidney Sherman: Texas Soldier, Statesman and Builder (Waco: Tex-
ian Press, 1974), p. 158.
67Henry Millard to Mirabeau B. Lamar, August 28, 1840. Papers of Mirabeau B. Lamar,
Letter #1875.
68Henry Millard to Thomas B. Huling, Papers of Thomas B. Huling, Barker Texas History
Center.
69Jefferson County Commissioners' Court Minutes, Vol. A, pp. 44-45.
70Jefferson County Deed Records, Vol. D, pp. 138-139.[Vol. XXI, No. I
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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/m1/62/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Gulf Historical Society.