This Day In Texas History - August 19

[joe817]

1824 - On August 19, 1824, Phillip Singleton, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, received title to a league of land at the mouth of Yegua Creek on the west bank of the Brazos River in what is now southeastern Burleson and northeastern Washington counties. The census of March 1826 classified him as a farmer and stock raiser aged between forty and fifty. His household included his wife, Susanna (Walker), two sons, and three daughters. In 1828–29 Singleton settled on the north side of Buffalo Bayou and built a log house that was afterwards bought by Lorenzo de Zavala and became Zavala's first home in Texas.

1824 - Ezekiel Thomas, early settler, was born in Edgefield, South Carolina, around 1797 and was in Texas by 1822, when he was living in the San Jacinto area. On August 19, 1824, as one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, he received title to a league of land that later became part of Harris County. The census of 1826 listed Thomas as a farmer and stock raiser aged between twenty-five and forty. He had a wife, Elizabeth, and two small daughters. Part of his original land grant was offered for sale by the county sheriff in 1838. Thomas died about 1834.

1837 - Robert Alexander, Methodist minister and missionary to Texas, the ninth child of Daniel and Rachael (Moffat) Alexander, was born in Smith County, Tennessee, on August 7, 1811. He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church about 1826. He was admitted into the Tennessee Conference in 1830 and ordained a deacon in 1832 and an elder in 1834. He transferred to the Mississippi Conference in 1835 and in April 1837 was appointed missionary to Texas with Martin Ruter and Littleton Fowler. Alexander, the first of the three to enter the new republic, crossed the Sabine on August 19 and preached his way westward, thus beginning a ministry of forty-five years in Texas.

1856 - The first issue of the Austin Southern Intelligencer appeared on August 19, 1856. The publishers were William Baker and Irving Root, and the editor was George W. Paschal. The Southern Intelligencer was published every Wednesday under the masthead motto, "Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice."

1870 - Annie Webb Blanton, teacher, suffragist, and the first woman in Texas elected to statewide office, was born on August 19, 1870, in Houston.

1895 - John Henry (Old John, Uncle John) Selman killed the famous gunman John Wesley Hardin on August 19, 1895, in El Paso, by putting three bullets in him as he rolled dice in the Acme Saloon. Selman went on trial for murder, but because of a hung jury he was released on bond. Selman was buried in El Paso's Concordia Cemetery in the Catholic section, but his grave was unmarked, and all attempts to locate it have been unsuccessful.

1906 - Eddie Durham, one of the most important Swing Era composer–arrangers, was born in San Marcos, Texas, on August 19, 1906. Durham's early training in music theory led to his work during the 1930s and 1940s as a jazz composer–arranger for four important bands from Oklahoma, Missouri, and Tennessee: the Blue Devils, Bennie Moten, Count Basie, and Jimmie Lunceford. The tunes Durham composed or arranged for these bands include such classics as "Moten Swing," "Swinging the Blues," "Topsy," "John's Idea," "Time Out," "Out the Window," "Every Tub," "Sent for You Yesterday," "One O'Clock Jump," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Lunceford Special," "Harlem Shout," and "Pigeon Walk." In addition, he arranged music for Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller, among other white big bands of the Swing Era; Durham contributed to one of Miller's greatest hits, "In the Mood." He died in New York City on March 6, 1987. His hometown of San Marcos declared August 19 as "Eddie Durham Day" and in 2003 began an annual Eddie Durham Day Musical Tribute and Festival with the long-term goal to establish a Durham Family Archival Museum and Memorial Park.

1919 - Candelaria is a ranching community at the end of Farm Road 170, across the Rio Grande from San Antonio El Bravo, Chihuahua, Mexico, and forty-two miles southwest of Marfa in western Presidio County. The United States Army built a cavalry outpost overlooking Candelaria shortly after the mobilization of National Guard troops along the border in May 1916. On August 19, 1919, troopers of the Eighth Cavalry crossed into Chihuahua at Candelaria on the last American punitive expedition into Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. The army outpost was closed after the cavalry withdrew from the upper Big Bend area in September 1919.

1921 - Eugene Wesley (Gene) Roddenberry, television writer and producer, was born in El Paso, Texas, on August 19, 1921. He grew up in Los Angeles, California, where his father worked in law enforcement, and received an A.A. degree from Los Angeles City College. He also attended the University of Miami, Columbia University, and the University of Southern California, where he studied prelaw and aeronautical engineering. He qualified for a pilot's license and served in the United States Air Force from 1941 to 1945. He flew a B-17 Flying Fortress on eighty-nine missions, including Guadalcanal and Bougainville, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and several other decorations. He also began writing for television, and in the 1950s and early 1960s his outlines and scripts were produced on Dragnet, Naked City, The U.S. Steel Hour, and Goodyear Theater, among other series. He received his first Emmy award as writer for Have Gun, Will Travel, a western series, for which he wrote more produced scripts than any other writer. Roddenberry is best remembered, however, for Star Trek, which premiered in 1966 and ran until 1969. The series became a cult favorite, spawned numerous fan clubs, products, and conventions, and later became one of the most popular syndicated shows in reruns. Six Star Trek feature films had been produced by the time of Roddenberry's death; he produced the first and was executive consultant on the next three. He was also executive producer of the sequel series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and coauthored two books, The Making of Star Trek (1968) and Star Trek—The Motion Picture: A Novel (1979). His book The Questor Tapes was published in 1974. Roddenberry died in Santa Monica, California, on October 24, 1991.

2006 - During the 1970s the Armadillo World Headquarters, a concert hall in Austin, became the focus of a musical renaissance that made the city a nationally recognized music capital. Launched in a converted National Guard armory by a group of local music partners—Eddie Wilson, Spencer Perskin, Jim Franklin, Mike Tolleson, Bobby Hedderman, and others—the "Armadillo" provided a large and increasingly sophisticated alternative venue to the municipal auditorium across the street. The Armadillo opened its doors in August 1970 and quickly became the focus for much of the city's musical life. By being able to host such top touring acts as Frank Zappa, the Pointer Sisters, Bruce Springsteen, and members of the Grateful Dead, the Armadillo brought to Austin a variety of musical groups that smaller clubs or other local entities might never have booked. The Armadillo also gave vital exposure to such future stars as Joe Ely, Marcia Ball, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. By 1980 the demands of downtown real estate signaled the end of an era. As its lease expired the Armadillo World Headquarters held one final New Year's Eve blowout (December 31, 1980), then closed its doors to await demolition. On August 19, 2006, the city of Austin dedicated a plaque to commemorate the hall at the site where it once stood. Though the building is gone, the Armadillo's legacy as a vital center of musical and artistic creativity lives on in Texas music history.

[ELB]

...On August 19, 1824, as one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, he received title to a league of land that later became part of Harris County. ... Part of his original land grant was offered for sale by the county sheriff in 1838.

Not directly related, but the original Spanish and Mexican land grants are still having effect today. Last night at our VFD meeting, we were discussing one of the other VFDs in the area. A small town was recently created next to their station, and in drawing the lines of the new city limits, a lot of research had to be done on the legal boundaries of the existing plots of land -- all the way back to the original Spanish grants.

I am told that it turns out that their station, the physical structure that houses their trucks, straddles two Spanish land grants, so this leads to part of their station being in the new city and part still being in the unincorporated county. I don't think this has any immediate effect on them, but I am going to stop by and see if they paint a boundary line on the floor.

[JALLEN]

When Roddenberry died in 1991, I was involved in building a Burt Rutan knockoff experimental airplane, and ran around with a bunch of builders and fliers of those types, rear engine canard aircraft.

At his funeral, a group of Longeze pilots flew a missing man formation over the cemetery. Those who were there say that's when Leonard Nimoy lost it, along with other long time Trekers.

[joe817]

"The history of land grants in Texas is a long and complex one. The earliest grant was made by the Spanish crown to establish a mission and presidio in East Texas in 1716. In 1731 town lots in San Antonio de Béxar were granted to Canary Islanders, and by the mid-1700s larger livestock grants were being made along the San Antonio River valley. In later years, the titles were issued by the governor of the province, who received a small fee, as did the local officials who participated in the process. Ranching lands further away from the town were generally held informally in the early years of Spanish Texas, and only regularized in later years. "

[ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mpl01 ]

This is a topic which fascinates me to no end. When my folks retired from Ft.Worth up to Henrietta(county seat of Clay county, which my ancestors settled after its breakaway from Cooke county), I found a very old title search from when they purchased their lot in town. It went all the way back to a Spanish Land Grant going back to the early 1800's. I think I still have it somewhere here at the house. I need to retrieve it & donate it to some historical society, probably Clay county historical society.

[JALLEN]

Not directly related, but the original Spanish and Mexican land grants are still having effect today. Last night at our VFD meeting, we were discussing one of the other VFDs in the area. A small town was recently created next to their station, and in drawing the lines of the new city limits, a lot of research had to be done on the legal boundaries of the existing plots of land -- all the way back to the original Spanish grants.

I am told that it turns out that their station, the physical structure that houses their trucks, straddles two Spanish land grants, so this leads to part of their station being in the new city and part still being in the unincorporated county. I don't think this has any immediate effect on them, but I am going to stop by and see if they paint a boundary line on the floor.

I had occasion some years ago to meet with the man who "wrote the book" on surveys and procedures, Curtis Brown. I was in a case involving U.S. Government survey discrepancies, lost monuments etc. He then was elderly, retired, living in a suburb of San Diego. I had read his book and seen his comments about surveys in Texas, where U.S. Government surveys were not done since Texas kept title to its public lands upon statehood.

He wrote that in Texas, one should always carefully review surveyors notes on older surveys, taking particular note of who was in the survey party. Apparently, the surveyors had a code amongst themselves back then, that if a particular name (I think it was "Juan Vargas" or something like that) was amongst the party, that meant it was an "office survey" and not actually done on the ground. Caution was advised!

Surveying is a surprising occupation. On the one hand, they purport to get everything down to 1/100th of a foot (about 1/8th inch). Nevertheless, I earned a very significant amount of money over the years going around straightening out surveying discrepancies, conflicts, gaps and overlaps in boundary lines etc.

[ELB]

...He wrote that in Texas, one should always carefully review surveyors notes on older surveys, taking particular note of who was in the survey party. Apparently, the surveyors had a code amongst themselves back then, that if a particular name (I think it was "Juan Vargas" or something like that) was amongst the party, that meant it was an "office survey" and not actually done on the ground. Caution was advised!
...

I would be interested to know if it really was "Juan Vargas" or some other ephemeral surveyor. We are likely to do some survey research in my neighborhood next, for the same reasons as that other little new town (has to do with encroachment of the nearby "big city", and if nothing but historical interest, I would like to see if that name pops up here.

I am pretty sure the ground I now live on was part of the Capote Ranch, a Spanish land grant -- originally 27,000 acres or so. In true Texas historical fashion, it's original grantee was a complex character:

"...Jose De La Baume (1731-1834), a French army officer who came to North America with the Marquis De Lafayette and fought in the American Revolution. He later joined the Spanish Army and for his services received title in 1806 to 27,000 acres of Texas land - the original El Capote Ranch. "

One of Teddy Roosevelt's horses came from that ranch. There still is a Capote Ranch property along the Guadalupe River, I have fought some brush fires on it, but it is considerably less than 27,000 acres now.

[joe817]

Wow! Is that interesting or what!!!?

Many thanks to you 2 for your input!

[JALLEN]

...He wrote that in Texas, one should always carefully review surveyors notes on older surveys, taking particular note of who was in the survey party. Apparently, the surveyors had a code amongst themselves back then, that if a particular name (I think it was "Juan Vargas" or something like that) was amongst the party, that meant it was an "office survey" and not actually done on the ground. Caution was advised!
...

I would be interested to know if it really was "Juan Vargas" or some other ephemeral surveyor. We are likely to do some survey research in my neighborhood next, for the same reasons as that other little new town (has to do with encroachment of the nearby "big city", and if nothing but historical interest, I would like to see if that name pops up here.

I am pretty sure the ground I now live on was part of the Capote Ranch, a Spanish land grant -- originally 27,000 acres or so. In true Texas historical fashion, it's original grantee was a complex character:

"...Jose De La Baume (1731-1834), a French army officer who came to North America with the Marquis De Lafayette and fought in the American Revolution. He later joined the Spanish Army and for his services received title in 1806 to 27,000 acres of Texas land - the original El Capote Ranch. "

One of Teddy Roosevelt's horses came from that ranch. There still is a Capote Ranch property along the Guadalupe River, I have fought some brush fires on it, but it is considerably less than 27,000 acres now.

Do you have the abstract or something?

Anyway, you might ask your surveyor (or befriend one) if he has a copy of Brown's book. Brown died in 1993. I had his book, and may still have it in the office in San Diego but I haven't seen it in a decade or more. I bought it when I was working on the missing monument case. I have a vague memory that I got him to autograph my copy when I visited with him.

Amazon has the book, later editions edited by others for $120 or so. Try to find one published in the '80's or before.

Maybe that info is a trade secret, like a secret handshake or something.

[jason812]

Do you think Selman would get a hung jury if that happened today? I tend to think not.

[ELB]

Do you have the abstract or something?.

If you're referring to Capote Ranch, no, I'm going by descriptions of the early ranch -- and the fact that I don't live so far away, well within "27K acre" range.

Anyway, you might ask your surveyor (or befriend one) if he has a copy of Brown's book. Brown died in 1993. I had his book, and may still have it in the office in San Diego but I haven't seen it in a decade or more. I bought it when I was working on the missing monument case. I have a vague memory that I got him to autograph my copy when I visited with him.

Amazon has the book, later editions edited by others for $120 or so. Try to find one published in the '80's or before.

Maybe that info is a trade secret, like a secret handshake or something.

I looked on Amazon and looks like he wrote a couple of books (with a coauthor), plus there are books about him, and some with the same title and coauthor but another author in place of Brown (after he died?). Some are quite inexpensive, may have to spring for them.

Not really related, but in a weird coincidence, when I searched on "Curtis Brown survey" (on Amazon) one of the books that popped up was
'Soil survey of Brown County, Indiana (Soil survey, ser. 1936)." The coincidence being "Brown County, Indiana" is where I grew up.

[JALLEN]

You will need your title search all the way back to see how the land was divided up.

You could pay a title company to do it, but you can do your own if you have plenty of time. Just go to the County Clerk and ask for land records. Wear comfortable clothes. You'll be there awhile. Start with your deed. Then run the name of your seller back until you find the deed to him/her/them. Then run that name back until you find the prior seller, and so forth, all the way until you find the references to the land grant. Somewhere in there the deeds will be for your property with other property, and before that with a lot of other property. Much more fascinating than surveyor notes!

I don't know how far back the clerk records will go. Here, I believe the records are back to the "Juan de Veramendi Seven League Grant" or something like that.

[ELB]

You will need your title search all the way back to see how the land was divided up.

...

Yes, to do a proper job, you're right. At the moment I am satisfied with "probably", but we may end up searching back that far. The event that prompted the search for records that discovered our neighboring VFD was straddling two old Spanish grants was the incorporation (is that he right word?) of Kingsbury as a proper town, largely in response to the expansion of Seguin. The may be a similar effort afoot in my neighborhood, for the same reason. Once you start laying out the lines for a new town, all kinds of surveying history becomes relevant.

ETA: I suspect that records all the way back to the original Spanish land grant exist, if not in Guadalupe County, at least in Texas, because I see reference to them in various histories of the area. A 1974 historical article I am reading delineates the progression of owners from the original grantee, Baume, all the way to 1974. He details the abstracts he used in the bibliography, so it looks like I have a guide or index of a sorts.

One of the owners along the way was Teddy Roosevelt's second wife, Edith. I doubt she ever saw the ranch, she and her sister inherited it from her grandfather Daniel Tyler IV, who was a businessman (and West Pointer and Union Army general) who bought the ranch with two other men as some kind of business effort. She sold or gave her part of the ranch to her sister, whose husband gave Roosevelt a horse (maybe two) when TR was recruiting for the Rough Riders, and apparently also provided other horses to the Rough Riders.