The Junior Historian, Volume 6, Number 1, September 1945 Page: 2
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
village, named for his father, Moses
Austin, was called Austinville. When
Stephen was five, the Austin family
moved to Missouri. Here, in the Span-
ish territory of Louisiana, Moses Aus-
tin began the operation of lead mines
some. fifty miles south of St. Louis.
Since his father believed in education,
Stephen, when eleven years old, was sent
to Bacon Academy in Colchester, Con-
necticut. Four years .later he graduated
and was given a certificate. This certifi-
cate is the only record of his conduct
there. He immediately entered Tran-
sylvania University at Lexington, Ken-
tucky, but was allowed to remain only
two and a half terms, which completed
his formal education.
Because of financial troubles, Stephen
at the age of seventeen was called back
from the university to plunge into his
father's enterprises. Working in his
father's store, he quickly learned care-
ful business habits and became well
acquainted with human nature. In 1813
he was elected to the territorial legis-
lature of Missouri and, by successive
re-elections, remained in office until
1819. During this time he had in 1814
received from the governor an adjutant's
commission in a battalion of Missouri
militia, in 1817 taken over a part of
his father's complex business, and in
1818 become a director of the Bank of
St. Louis. By 1819 he was engaged in
trading, farming, and land speculation
in Arkansas. Governor James Miller in
1820 appointed him judge of the federal
circuit of Arkansas. He did not stay in
one place long and was soon in New
Orleans, where at the beginning of 1821
he studied law and the French language
and at the same time helped to edit the
Louisiana Advertiser. With this wealth
of experience and training behind him,
he was well prepared at the age of
twenty-eight for the tasks which lay
ahead of him in Texas.
In 1821I Moses Austin received from
the Spanish governor in Mexico per-
mission to settle three hundred Amer-
ican families in Texas. Conceived byMoses Austin in old Durham Hall
in the mining village of Potosi, Mis-
souri, the birth of Anglo-American
Texas took its first official step. But
shortly thereafter Moses Austin became
fatally ill and on his deathbed requested
that his son carry on. Although dubious
about the colonization of Texas, Stephen
F. Austin, in obedience to his father's
wishes, continued the undertaking
alone.
During the summer of 1821 Austin
visited San Antonio, reported his
father's death to the governor, and
asked permission to go on with the
colonization of Texas. His request was
granted, and he was authorized to select
the land he wished to use. Exploring
the country between thd San Antonio
and the Brazos rivers with fifteen or
eighteen companions, he selected land
along the banks of the Brazos and the
Colorado. Here he determined he would
locate his colony. With the governor's
permission, Austin decided to grant
each married man 96o acres and to
charge 12 cents per acre. Returning
to New Orleans in November, he found
many families ready to go with him.
He bought the schooner Lively, loaded
it with provisions, and sent it to Texas
with orders to await him at the mouth
of the Colorado. Moving swiftly, he
returned to Texas by land, probably ac-
companied by other members who had
joined the colony. Camped on the banks
of the Brazos were the families who had
arrived previously.
By the middle of December, Austin
was back in Nacogdoches; from there
he went immediately to the mouth of
the Colorado to meet the Lively. It was
not there. After waiting until the pro-
visions were almost exhausted, the em-
presario left for San Antonio.to tell the
governor that the colony was begun.
Governor Antonio de Martinez told him
that the new government of Mexico,
which was now independent of Spain,
might not approve the permit granted
to his father by Spanish authorities.
Appointing Josiah H. Bell to take
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 6, Number 1, September 1945, periodical, September 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391277/m1/4/?q=%22rep-tex%22: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.