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35-709: Peters Colony (Peters' Colony) is a name applied to four empresario land grant contracts first by the Republic of Texas and then the State of Texas for settlement in North Texas . The contracts were signed by groups of American and English investors originally headed by William Smalling Peters. Samuel Browning, Peters' son-in-law signed the first contract with the Republic of Texas in Austin on August 30, 1841. Ownership of

70-604: A land grant and permission to settle three hundred families in Texas. On Austin's return trip, he became ill, and he died in June 1821, shortly after arriving back in Missouri. His son Stephen F. Austin carried out his colonization plan several years later, and led the three hundred families to what became the first Anglo-American settlement in Texas. In 1885, the legality of Austin's Spanish property claims were settled posthumously by

105-725: A mansion called Durham Hall, named for his birth town of Durham, Connecticut . Moses Austin attempted various economic ventures before his plans to settle in Texas came to fruition. Austin failed to successfully maintain the St. Louis Bank and his financial situation suffered from unfavorable shipment deals. Austin's desperation reached a climax in 1820 when a Missouri sheriff threatened to break down his door to collect past debts. Austin's son, Stephen F. Austin , also continued to seek employment in Mississippi and Arkansas to help his poor financial situation. In November 1820, Austin learned that

140-494: A wider basis in 1824 with passage of the General Colonization Law . This law authorized all heads of household who were citizens of or immigrants to Mexico as eligible to claim land. After the law passed, the state government of Coahuila y Tejas was inundated with requests by foreign speculators to establish colonies within the state. There was no shortage of people willing to come to Texas. The United States

175-528: A “Form of Contract for Emigration to Texas” which detailed the obligations of each member joining the settlement in Texas. Austin required emigrants to help build community structures. He also ordered the settlers to own a “Spanish carbine”, a type of gun, to protect the settlement. Austin's relationship with the settlers he recruited was not one of mutual respect, but rather he employed the settlers. Austin contracted his settlers to work from their departure in May, until

210-581: Is a descendant of Richard Austin on his paternal side. In 1784, he moved to Philadelphia to enter the dry goods business with his brother, Stephen. He then moved to Richmond, Virginia , to open a second dry goods store. In 1785, he married into the affluent iron mining family of Mary Brown, who then became known as Mary Brown Austin . The Austins' second child was born in 1793 and named Stephen Fuller Austin in honor of his father's brother and his mother's great uncle. Their daughter Emily Austin followed in 1795. A second son, James Elijah Brown Austin ,

245-491: Is parts of 26 counties total. Typical Texas counties have an area of 900 sq mi (2331 sq km). Empresario Since empresarios attracted immigrants mostly from the Southern United States , they encouraged the spread of slavery into Texas. Although Mexico banned slavery in 1829, the settlers in Texas revolted in 1835 and continued to develop the economy, dominated by slavery, in the eastern part of

280-510: The Brazos River , ranging from the Gulf of Mexico to near present-day Dallas . In 1823, Mexico’s authoritarian ruler Agustín de Iturbide enacted a colonization law authorizing the national government to enter into a contract granting land to an “empresario,” or promoter, who was required to recruit a minimum of two hundred families to settle the grant. Mexico approved immigration on

315-638: The empresario system in Texas, which resulted in permission to begin a new settlement in Texas. This outdated reward system granted tracts of land to immigrants who pledged their allegiance to the Spanish crown. Therefore, Austin's settlement was contingent upon its allegiance to the Spanish Crown. After returning from successful negotiations in San Antonio , Austin returned to Missouri to recruit settlers for his new settlement. In April, he created

350-663: The Bank of St. Louis, but the bank failed in the Panic of 1819 , causing him to lose his entire fortune. He again sought help from Spain. In 1820, Austin traveled to the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar in Spanish Texas and presented a plan to colonize Texas with Anglo-Americans to Governor Antonio María Martínez . In 1821, the governor asked Austin's friend, Erasmo Seguín , to give him the news that he had been awarded

385-420: The Republic in three years. Each single man could be granted 320 acres or each family 640 acres. The empresarios were allowed to keep up to half of the settler's grants for services rendered. These services included surveying, title documents, shot, powder, seed, and in some cases a log cabin. The terms of the contract involving titles and the retention of property by the company led to problems between settlers and

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420-590: The U.S. Supreme Court in Bryan v. Kennett . Moses Austin had many relatives who helped settle Texas, including Stephen F. Austin and Emily Austin Perry (daughter), Moses Austin Bryan (grandson), and others. Moses Austin should be distinguished from his grandson Moses Austin Bryan. James Bryan was his first son-in-law; James F. Perry was his second son-in-law. The Missouri State Archives reflect that Moses Austin lived in

455-625: The United States passed the Adams–Onís Treaty with Spain, which situated present-day Texas in New Spain's territory. Moses Austin hoped the Spanish government would permit free trade with the United States so he left for Texas to try and begin a new economic venture. Mary Brown Austin , Moses Austin's wife, wrote to her cousin explaining Moses's plans to colonize Texas in order to provide for their family. Austin's primary intention

490-466: The area. A second contract was requested that extended the boundary 40 miles south. It was signed on November 9, 1841. Peters' company had trouble meeting the deadlines, and requested a third contract. It was signed by Sam Houston on July 26, 1842. It extended the boundary to include a 12-mile-wide strip on the east and a 10-mile-wide strip on the west. The fourth contract was signed on January 20, 1843. It extended that deadline to July 1, 1848, and expanded

525-416: The boundary to include 10 million acres to the west. The extensive area of Peters Colony included all or portions of Denton , Collin , Cooke , Grayson , Dallas , Tarrant , Wise , Palo Pinto , Ellis , Johnson , Montague , Parker , Hood , Clay , Jack , Erath , Wichita , Archer , Young , Stephens , Eastland , Wilbarger , Baylor , Throckmorton , Shackelford , and Callahan Counties. That

560-422: The coast of Texas. On December 26, 1820, Austin and Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop presented a formal petition to Governor Antonio María Martínez . They requested permission to bring three hundred families to a port in Texas. Most importantly, Austin insisted that the settlers were former subjects of Spain and would be willing to defend the land against foreign enemies. Austin convinced Spain to reinstate

595-650: The company for many years. The Hedgcoxe War was an armed rebellion against the land company's agent Henry Oliver Hedgcoxe on July 16, 1852, in which company records were seized and taken to the Dallas County Courthouse. These problems required additional legislation by the Congress of the Republic of Texas and the Texas Legislature. Unappropriated land within the original boundary was insufficient; settlers and trading posts were already in

630-521: The empresario company changed many times during the life of the contracts. The original boundary of Peters Colony started on the Red River at the mouth of Big Mineral Creek, currently in western Grayson County, running south 60 miles, then west 22 miles, then back north to the Red River, and then east along the Red River to the point of origin at Big Mineral Creek. According to the contract, the empresarios were required to recruit 200 families from outside

665-462: The empresario program, offering grants to French diplomat Henri Castro and abolitionist Charles Fenton Mercer , among others. Maps: Moses Austin Moses Austin (October 4, 1761 – June 10, 1821) was an American businessman and pioneer who played a large part in the development of the lead industry in the early United States , especially in southwest Virginia and Missouri. He

700-573: The empresarios spoke Spanish, were Catholic and generally familiar with Mexican ways, and allowed local Mexican families to join their colonies. In 1829, Mexico abolished slavery, which affected the Anglo-American settlers’ quest for wealth in building colonizations worked by enslaved Africans. They lobbied the Mexican government for a reversal of the ban and gained only a one-year extension to settle their affairs and free their bonded workers -

735-426: The following January. In return, Austin guaranteed transportation along with the necessary tools and provisions to begin the settlement. Although Moses Austin died prior to his planned departure, his son, Stephen F. Austin , continued his efforts to colonize Texas. Austin triggered such a substantial movement of people into Texas that the land became inundated with Americans. Austin's push to settle Texas contributed to

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770-484: The generous immigration policies in order to develop east Texas. Even as the government debated a new colonization law, Stephen F. Austin , son of Moses Austin, was given permission to take over his father's colonization contract. Stephen F. Austin is probably the best known and most successful empresario in Texas. The first group of colonists, known as the Old Three Hundred , arrived in 1822 and settled along

805-465: The government refused to legalize slavery. Unlike its predecessor, the Mexican law required immigrants to practice Catholicism and stressed that foreigners needed to learn Spanish. Settlers were supposed to own property or have a craft or useful profession, and all people wishing to live in Texas were expected to report to the nearest Mexican authority for permission to settle. The rules were widely disregarded and many families became squatters . Under

840-510: The hard, difficult labor of digging the lead ore and processing it. Enslaved boys were forced to man the carts that carried ore from the pits to the smelters. Enslaved women and girls were used to prepare food for the enslaved men who worked the mines, pits, and smelting operations. In 1803, Missouri came under the jurisdiction of the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase . Austin became founder and principal stockholder in

875-453: The large group of settlers from Missouri who colonized the northern reaches of then-sovereign Mexico in 1825, and in time, the settlers demanded autonomy and later won independence from Mexico under President Antonio López de Santa Anna , thereby establishing the Republic of Texas . Moses Austin was born October 4, 1761, to Elias Austin and Eunice Phelps Austin in Durham, Connecticut . He

910-489: The mines became known as " Austinville ", and Moses came to be known as the "Lead King". The Austin brothers soon incurred debts, causing the collapse of the company. After the Virginia lead business failed, Moses skipped out to avoid imprisonment and the consequences of debt, which was then customary for debtors in the U.S. under traditional English law (now being developed for U.S. federal and state codes), and looked toward

945-490: The new laws, people who did not already possess property in Texas could claim 4438 acres of irrigable land, with an additional 4438 available to those who owned cattle. Empresarios and individuals with large families were exempt from the limit. Empresido of Mexico in New Madrid , Spanish Louisiana Territory , After the Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico , the young nation continued its own version of

980-432: The practices of lead mining in Missouri. Valle and other French colonizers had long used enslaved African Americans and enslaved Native Americans to mine, and Austin immediately took to these practices. In 1798, the year of his arrival in Missouri, he purchased at least one enslaved man. Moses greatly expanded the use of enslaved men and women in running mining operations in Missouri. Enslaved African American men were used for

1015-502: The rich lead deposits in Missouri , then a part of upper Spanish Louisiana . In December 1797, Austin and a companion traveled to investigate the Spanish mines. Stephen remained behind to salvage the Virginia business, creating a rift between the two brothers that would last for much of the rest of their lives. The state of Virginia seized much of the property Moses owned and broke up the various operations, which were later purchased from

1050-598: The state at great discounts by Thomas Jackson and his partners — they would later build the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower , one of the few extant shot towers in United States, at this location. In 1798, the Spanish colonial government granted to Moses one league of land (4,428 acres) to undertake lead mining operations. In return he swore allegiance to the Spanish Crown and stated he would settle some families in Missouri. Travelling to Missouri, Austin worked with Francois Valle to identify his claims and to learn

1085-862: The territory. In the late 18th century, Spain stopped allocating new lands in much of Spanish Texas , stunting the growth of the province. It changed this policy in 1820, and made it more flexible, allowing colonists of any religion to settle in Texas (formerly settlers were required to be Catholic, the established religion of the Spanish Empire). Moses Austin , an American colonist, was the only man granted an empresarial contract in Texas under Spanish law. But Moses Austin died before he could begin his colony, and Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in September 1821. At this time, about 3500 colonists lived in Texas, mostly congregated at San Antonio and La Bahia . The Mexican government continued

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1120-526: Was born in 1803. Austin sought to start his own mining business in southwestern Virginia , and in 1789 he traveled there to look at a lead mine . Moses saw potential in the site and by 1791 his family had joined him in what is now Wythe County . Moses and his brother Stephen and several other partners and individuals industrialized the area. Several smelters, furnaces , commissaries, blacksmith shops, liveries, and mills were established. The tiny village around

1155-459: Was still struggling with the aftermath of the Panic of 1819 , and soaring land prices within the United States made the Mexican land policy seem very generous. Most successful empresarios recruited colonists primarily in the United States. Only two of the groups that attempted to recruit in Europe built lasting colonies, Refugio and San Patricio . These colonies were successful in part because

1190-487: Was the father of Stephen F. Austin , one of the earliest American settlers of Texas , which was at the time part of Mexico . After receiving a land grant from the Spanish Crown in 1820, Moses Austin planned to be the first to establish an American settlement in Spanish Texas , but he died before his dream was realized. On his deathbed, he pleaded with his son to fulfill his dream to colonize Texas. Stephen led

1225-456: Was to create a trading venture on the coast of Texas to allow the United States to trade with New Spain. On December 23, 1820, Austin arrived in San Antonio to begin negotiations with the Spanish government to establish a trading post. After some difficulty on his own, Austin paired with a Spanish interpreter, Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop , who agreed to join Austin and plan a settlement called "Austina" which would be located somewhere on

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