Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836), nicknamed the Father of Texas, led the second colonization of this region of the current United States by bringing in American migrants, while Texas belonged to Mexico. He gave his name to the current capital of Texas, Austin, but also to educational institutions such as Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches or Austin College in Sherman.
Youth (1793-1820)
Stephen F. Austin was born in the mining country of southwestern Virginia, in Wythe County. He is the second child of Moses Austin and Mary Brown, who first had a daughter named Eliza, who died early. On June 8, 1798, when he was only four years old, his family moved to the present state of Missouri, a region which then depended on the Spanish crown. After the sale of Louisiana to the United States, the father of Stephen Austin requests the creation of a county of Washington; he also claims that the city he created Potosi becomes the capital.
At the age of 11, Stephen Austin was sent to study at Bacon Academy in Connecticut and then at Transylvania University in Lexington, where he graduated in 18102. He trained as a lawyer and then entered the assembly of the Missouri Territory at the age of 21. He then used his political influence to found the Bank of Saint Louis, but found himself ruined after the panic of 1819. He then decided to leave for the territory of Arkansas. There he acquired property on the south bank of the Arkansas River in the area of present-day Little Rock. He left again in 1820 for Louisiana:he met Joseph H. Hawkins in New Orleans.
Leaving for Texas
While Stephen Austin continues his career in Arkansas, his father receives permission from New Spain to bring 300 Anglo-Saxon settlers to Texas. The latter died of pneumonia on the way back, on June 10, 1821, leaving his son the task of installing the settlers. Stephen Austin arrived in San Antonio, Texas on August 12, determined to renew the authorization his father had received. During his trip, he learns that Mexico has declared its independence from Spain and that Texas has become a province of Mexico. However, he received permission to settle settlers from Governor Antonio María Martínez. The latter authorized him to explore the coast of the Gulf of Mexico between San Antonio and El Brazos in order to find a place for the colony. He led this expedition with Manuel Becerra and three Aranama Indians. The settlers finally settled in December 1821 in what is now Brazoria County. Each family receives land that they can develop.
However, the new government installed in Mexico City and led by Agustín did not recognize the right of colonization granted by the Spanish authorities. Stephen F. Austin had to travel to Mexico City to obtain permission from the new government, permission that had been given to his father by the Spanish authorities before independence. This was granted in 1823 by Emperor Augustine I; but after his abdication, the new republican government of Mexico annulled all the acts of the preceding regime. Austin's contract was finally recognized in mid-April 1823. When he returned to Texas in July 1823, Stephen Austin decided to make San Felipe de Austin the chief town of his small colony. Austin was able to settle another hundred families in 1827 along the Old San Antonio Road; Mexican authorities believed they would help the soldiers defend against Comanche attacks.