This Day In Texas History - January 28

[joe817]

1834 - The O. P. Q. Letters were two letters, dated January 28 and February 8, 1834, intended to incite the colonists in Texas to insurrection in protest against the arrest and imprisonment of Stephen F. Austin in Mexico. They were written anonymously by Anthony Butler, who, as minister of the United States, was trying to buy Texas and believed that insurrection might induce Mexico to sell. Both were signed "O. P. Q." Copies of the originals were given to Col. Juan N. Almonte, who visited Texas on an inspection trip in the summer of 1834, and by Almonte forwarded to the government in translation. Although initially skeptical, Almonte became convinced that Butler was the author of the letters and suspected that he might be acting on secret instructions from the United States government. In July Almonte wrote to the secretary of foreign relations in Mexico City recommending that his government request Butler's recall. Mexican authorities, however, failed to take action, and Butler was not recalled until the following year, and then only because of President Andrew Jackson's displeasure with his handling of affairs.

1836 - Prospero Bernardi arrived in Texas aboard the schooner Pennsylvania as a member of Capt. Amasa Turner's volunteer company, raised in New Orleans. He enlisted in the Texas army on February 13, 1836, and distinguished himself in the battle of San Jacinto. He remained in the army until January or February 1837, when he was medically discharged from John Smith's company at Galveston because of a spinal injury sustained during combat. A bust of the Italian soldier stands in front of the Hall of State, Fair Park, Dallas, to commemorate his participation in the battle of San Jacinto. [if you ever get a chance, please visit the Hall of State. Beautiful art deco architecture and a wonderful look in our fight for independence. ]

1839 - President Mirabeau B. Lamar approved an act establishing a patent office within the department of state. Citizens of Texas and those who had filed intentions of becoming citizens who had made original inventions could obtain patents, to run for fourteen years or for any part of that time they remained within Texas, by paying a thirty dollar fee and by filing a drawing or model of their inventions. In 1839 six patents to six inventors and in 1841 eight patents to four inventors were granted.

1843 - In a letter to William Henry Daingerfield, President Sam Houston stated that Daingerfield and Ashbel Smith would be made Knights of the Order of San Jacinto. Houston's intent was that diplomats of the republic would not have to appear titleless and ribbonless among the aristocratic diplomats of Europe. Along with the diplomats, Houston wished to honor others who distinguished themselves in service to Texas.

1843 - Jacob (Old Jake) Snively petitioned the government of the republic for permission to organize and fit out an expedition for the purpose of intercepting and capturing the property of Mexican traders who might pass through territory claimed by Texas on the Santa Fe Trail. On February 16 the War Department authorized the organization of a force not to exceed 300 men. The expedition was not to be regarded as a government undertaking, although the spoils of the campaign, to be taken only in honorable warfare, were to be divided equally between the government and the members of the expedition. The appointed place of the rendezvous was Fort Johnson at the little settlement of Georgetown near Coffee's Station on Red River in what was then Fannin County but is now Grayson. This commonly became known as "Snively's Expedition".

1861 - Camp Ives closed after only one year of operation. It was built in Kerr County in response to settlers’ requests for government protection against Native Americans.

1861 - The secession convention convened and the delegates to the convention elected O. M. Roberts presiding officer. Roberts's words at that time demonstrate the conviction that the delegates were acting as the special representatives of the people: "All political power is inherent in the people. That power, I assert, you now represent." [ for more information see:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/onli ... /mjs1.html ]

1891 - Fine Gilliland shot and killed Fort Davis cattleman Henry Harrison Powe during a roundup near Leoncita Springs in Brewster County. Gilliland had been sent by the firm of Dubois and Wentworth to make sure none of the local ranchers appropriated any of the company's cattle; he became embroiled in a dispute with Powe over an unbranded brindle yearling steer found without its mother. Powe believed that the steer belonged to a cow with his HHP brand, but Gilliland disagreed and a gunfight ensued. Gilliland killed Powe and fled on horseback, but was himself killed a few days later in a shootout with two Texas Rangers. Meanwhile, the cowboys branded "MURDER" on one side of the yearling and "JAN 28 91" on the other. Legend has it that the "murder steer" still appears whenever foul play has occurred; the incident also inspired an episode of the television series Rawhide, which aired May 13, 1960, "The Incident of the Murder Steer", and a ballad by Canadian folk singer Ian Tyson.

1912 - Philanthropist Frances Lutcher dedicated the First Presbyterian Church in Orange in honor of the family of her husband, lumberman Henry J. Lutcher, whom she had married in 1858. This magnificent marble structure was reputedly the first structure west of the Mississippi River to have air conditioning.

1960 - Two Dallas millionaires, Clint Murchison and Bedford Wynne, receive a franchise for an NFL team they name the Cowboys.

1986 - The space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. Seven American astronauts were killed, including Texas resident Judith Arlene Resnik. She was the second American woman astronaut. She had taken her first space flight in August 1984 aboard the orbiter Discovery.

[fickman]

And on this day in 1996, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. If only I'd known then what the next 20 years would bring, maybe I would have tried to enjoy it just a little bit longer.

[joe817]

And on this day in 1996, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. If only I'd known then what the next 20 years would bring, maybe I would have tried to enjoy it just a little bit longer.

How true!

[ELB]

1836 - Prospero Bernardi arrived in Texas .... A bust of the Italian soldier stands in front of the Hall of State, Fair Park, Dallas, to commemorate his participation in the battle of San Jacinto...