Stephen F. Austin

Explorers, Pioneers, and Frontiersmen, 1793-1836

Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Wythe County, Virginia, but spent much of his youth in southeastern Missouri. He graduated from Transylvania College in Kentucky. In 1814, Austin was elected to the first of several terms in the Missouri Territorial Legislature, then served as a circuit court judge.

His father, Moses Austin, had secured a land grant in Texas from the Spanish government, but died before settling it. Stephen Austin inherited the grant, but had to persuade the Mexican officials to honor a grant conferred by the ousted Spaniards. In 1822, he managed to claim a large tract between the Colorado and Brazos rivers and began settling Americans there.

In all, more than 1,200 families were brought to the area through Austin's efforts, earning him the title “Father of Texas.” During these years, Austin worked to cool the desires of settlers who wanted to break away from Mexico. He hoped to resolve outstanding issues and spur Texas to become a separate state within Mexico.

In 1833, Austin traveled to Mexico City in an effort to win broadened self-governing powers for his settlement. He was kept waiting by President Antonio López de Santa Anna, so he sent home a letter that urged the Texans to act on their own. Santa Anna learned of this advice and had him thrown into prison for treason.

In 1835, Austin was released. He returned to Texas to head a volunteer force in the Texan Revolution, but was soon dispatched to Washington, D.C. in an unsuccessful attempt to secure American aid.

Austin lost a bid for the Texas presidency to Sam Houston in 1836, but was appointed the independent nation's secretary of state.