This Day In Texas History - April 27

[joe817]

1716 - Domingo Ramón, was commander of a military unit that was to reestablish Spanish presence in East Texas, thereby countering French influence from Louisiana. The entourage included twelve priests or friars, three Frenchmen, and several dozen civilians. Seven of the soldiers were married and brought along their families; their wives the first recorded Spanish women in Texas. The expedition, including equipment, supplies, and livestock, departed the Rio Grande on April 27, 1716. Guided by St. Denis, missionaries of the Franciscan colleges of Santa Cruz de Querétaro and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Zacatecas reached East Texas in late June.

1828 - Barzillai (Barzilla) Kuykendall, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, received his second tract of land of a quarter league and a quarter labor on the east bank of Mill Creek, just north of the site of present New Bremen. He left several descriptions of early skirmishes with Indians, especially pursuits for stolen horses. During this time his father was authorized by Austin to raise troops and pursue the thieves; Barzillai and his brothers participated in the skirmishes.

1839 - The Richmond Telescope, a weekly newspaper, was first issued by David L. Wood on April 27, 1839. The paper indicated little interest in politics and took no definite stand on candidates; according to its own prospectus it was devoted to literature, agriculture, commerce, and foreign and domestic news. It probably suspended operation in April 1840.

1846 - William Gordon Cooke, soldier and statesman was appointed the first adjutant general of the state of Texas by Governor James Pinckney Henderson. He served in this office until his death. Cooke's Camp, near San Antonio, Cooke County, and Cooke Avenue in San Antonio were named for him.

1860 - In Tyler, Texas, members of the Constitutional Union Convention convened to discuss alternatives to a potential secession from the Union.

1861 - Benjamin F. Carter was instrumental in the organization of the Austin City Light Infantry, consisting of seventy-five men, by April 27 following news reaching Austin of the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter on April 17, 1861. Carter spent the late spring and early summer training with his troops, renamed the Tom Green Rifles, in San Marcos. Carter's unit was mustered into the Confederate Army and became Company B of the Fourth Texas Infantry. The Fourth Infantry was attached to Hood's Texas Brigade and saw action in all the major campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia.

1871 - The San Felipe Agricultural, Manufacturing, and Irrigation Company was organized, with James Taylor as one of the original members; he was appointed "Ditch Commissioner" to supervise operations. Company minutes claim that by May 1, 1871, shareholders had built acequias "to irrigate 1,500 acres of land more or less." San Felipe Del Rio later which became known as Del Rio.

1895 - The newspaper Rolling Stone was the first publication of William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry. The weekly newspaper was published in 1894–95 and reached a circulation of several thousand subscribers. Subscription rates for the Rolling Stone were $1.50 per year, and the paper printed from eight to twelve pages weekly. In the first issue Porter left no doubt that the paper was intended more for entertainment than news. He lampooned local politicians, social customs, business practices, the performing arts, and other local and state establishments. Throughout the life of the paper, fictionalized accounts of news appeared. Once Porter "reprinted" a page from the imaginary paper "Plunkville Patriot," complete with intentionally written typographical errors and confused syntax. He wrote most of the articles and took the rest from syndicates. Some of his own short stories were first published in the Rolling Stone. The final issue of the Rolling Stone appeared on April 27, 1895.

1896 - Rogers Hornsby, called the greatest right-hand hitter in the history of professional baseball, son of Edward and Mary Dallas was born on April 27, 1896, on his father's Hereford ranch near Winters, Texas. He played with Hugo, Oklahoma, and then Denison, Texas, in the lower minor leagues. When the St. Louis Cardinals purchased his contract for $500 in 1915, he began an illustrious career in the major leagues. At the time he weighed only 130 pounds, so he spent a winter at an uncle's farm near Lockhart, where he added thirty-five pounds. During his first full season in the major leagues he batted .313, a remarkably high figure for that era of dead ball. His lifetime home-run total was 301, part of which was compiled during the dead-ball era. His lifetime batting average was .358, the highest in National League history and second only to the .367 of Ty Cobb. Hornsby was named most valuable player of the National League in 1925 and 1929.

1909 - LEON SPRINGS MILITARY RESERVATION, later to be renamed Fort Sam Houston was established. In 1908 the first military maneuvers were held involving both regular army and national guard units. These training exercises included units of the Third Cavalry, First Field Artillery, and Ninth and Nineteenth infantries, as well as signal and hospital units. The first recorded artillery firing at the reservation occurred on April 27, 1909.

1921 - Harding "Hop" Wilson, blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player, was born in Grapeland, Texas, on April 27, 1921. Wilson is best known for his work on the eight-string Hawaiian steel guitar, which he helped popularize throughout the South during the 1940s and 1950s. He played the instrument in the country-and-western style on a stand or in his lap. His unique slide stylings had a significant influence on a variety of guitar players, including L. C. "Good Rockin" Robinson, Sonny Rhodes, Jimmie Vaughan, and Johnny Winter.