The Life of Stephen F. Austin : Founder of Texas, 1793 – 1836 – A Chapter in the Westward Movement of the ANglo-American People

Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the Father of Texas and the founder of Anglo Texas, he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families and their slaves from the United States to the Tejas region of Mexico in 1825. Born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri, Austin served in the Missouri territorial legislature. He moved to Arkansas Territory and later to Louisiana. His father, Moses Austin, received an empresario grant from Spain to settle Texas. After Moses Austin’s death in 1821, Stephen Austin won recognition of the empresario grant from the newly independent nation of Mexico. Austin attracted numerous Anglo-American settlers to move to Texas, and by 1825 Austin had brought the first 300 American families into the territory. Throughout the 1820s, Austin sought to maintain good relations with the Mexican government, and he helped suppress the Fredonian Rebellion. He also helped ensure the introduction of slavery into Texas despite the opposition of the Mexican government to the institution. Austin led the initial actions against the indigenous Karankawa people in this area. As Texas settlers became increasingly dissatisfied with the Mexican government, Austin advocated conciliation, but the dissent against Mexico escalated into the Texas Revolution. Austin led Texas forces at the successful Siege of Béxar before serving as a commissioner to the United States. Austin ran as a candidate in the 1836 Texas presidential election but was defeated by Sam Houston, who had served as a general in the war and entered the race two weeks before the election. Houston appointed Austin as Secretary of State for the new republic, and Austin held that position until his death in December 1836. Numerous places and institutions are named in his honor, including the capital of Texas.