USA > Texas > Indian wars and pioneers of Texas, Vol. I > Part 45
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arbitrary collection of customs dues June, 1835, sought to be collected by Capt. Tenorio, the Mexi- can commander of the garrison, upon goods merely to be transported from one town in the colony to another, led to the first active measures of resist- ance taken by the patriot Texians in 1835. Led by Wm. B. Travis, a band of Texians collected at Harrisburg and vicinity, loaded a six-pound can- non on board the sloop " Ohio," attacked the Mexi- can garrison at Anahuac, disarmed the Mexicans and released Andrew Briscoe from the loathsome prison in which he had been confined for several days. In October, 1835, he was elected Captain of the Liberty Volunteers, who participated with him in the battle of Concepcion, October 28th, 1835. He was one of the volunteers who stormed and took San Antonio, December 6th, 1835, and was later elected a member of the convention to assem- ble at Washington, Texas, March 1st, 1836, and but for this eircumstance would have been one of the victims of the Alamo. He left the army at San Antonio in the latter part of February, but a day or two before the town was invested by Mexi- cans. Arriving at Washington he affixed his name to the Declaration of Independence, which made Texas a free and independent republic. He raised a company of regulars for the army, which, as Company A., he commanded in the battle of San Jacinto, April 21st, 1836. Soon after this event, which assured the tranquillity of the Republic, he was appointed Chief Justice of Harris County. August 17th, 1837, he married Miss Mary Jane Harris, daughter of Mr. John R. and Mrs. Jane (Birdsall) Harris. In 1839 he obtained a charter for the Harrisburg and Brazos R. R., the first ob- tained in Texas. A few miles of grading was done but the enterprise was abandoned. The route
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which it was designed to follow forms a part of the present system of the Southern Pacific Railway. He owned the first two-story dwelling erected in Houston, where he lived for a year or two after his marriage. Removing to Harrisburg in 1840, he built there a two-story brick dwelling and engaged in the cattle business until 1819, when he removed to New Orleans and opened a house of banking and exchange. In the same year be was taken siek, and died October 4, 1849. His body was taken to Mississippi and buried in the family bury-
ing-ground on his father's plantation in Claiborne county. His widow, Mrs Mary Jane Briscoe, lives at Houston, Harris County, Texas. Their descend- ants are Parmenas Briscoe, who lives with his mother, Andrew Birdsall Briscoe, who married Miss Annie F. Payne, daughter of Mr. Jonathan and Mrs. Mary (Vance) Payne, and lives at San Antonio ; Miss Jessie Wade Briscoe, who married Mr. Milton Grosvenor Howc and lives in Houston, and Miss Adele Lubbock Briscoe, who married Maj. M. Looscan and lives in Houston.
MRS. MARY JANE BRISCOE,
HOUSTON.
Miss Mary Jane Harris was the daughter of Mr. John R. and Mrs. Jane ( Birdsall) Harris and was born at St. Genevieve, Mo., August 17, 1819, where her parents were temporarily residing. Re- turning to New York when an infant she passed her girlhood at the homestead of her grandfather, situated half way between Waterloo and Sencca Falls. When her mother and brother came to Texas in 1833, she remained at school until after the battle of San Jacinto, when, in company with her grandfather, Mr. Lewis Birdsall, her cousin, George Babcock, and her younger brother, John Birdsall Harris, she started to Texas. They spent several weeks in travel, going first by canal to Cin- cinnati, thence on board a small steamboat to Portsmouth and down the Ohio and Mississippi in boats of various sizes until they reached New Orleans. Here they were joined by other mem- bers of the family also en route to Texas. The other relatives who joined them were Dr. Maurice Birdsall, her unele, and Dr. Abram Van Tuyl, the husband of her aunt, Eliza Birdsall. They took passage on the schooner " Julius Caesar " and had for fellow passengers several men who had taken a prominent part in the recent stirring cveuts in Texas. They arrived at the mouth of the Brazos river at the town of Quintana in the latter part of September. There were but two or three houses at this place, the largest being a two-story boarding-house built of rough lumber. Here they spent only a few days, and taking passage on the steamboat " Yellowstone," procceded to Brazoria, where they stopped at the boarding-house kept by Mrs. Jane Long, thic widow of Dr. James Long,
who about fifteen years before had met a tragic fate in the city of Mexico. Only a few miles dis- tant, at Columbia, the first Congress of the Repub- lie of Texas was in session, it having assembled October 3d, 1836. Mrs. Long's house was fre- quently visited by the different officers and repre- sentatives of the government. Here Miss Mary Jane Harris first met the President of the Republic, Gen. Sam Houston, beside many others whose part in the late successful conflict had made them heroes of all time. At a short distance, at the plantation of Dr. Phelps, Santa Anna was a prisoner. He was released soon afterwards. Thus did she almost immediately upon her arrival in Texas, make the acquaintance of prominent actors in the late revo- lution. Although a mail service had been estab- lished by the government, it was very imperfect and news traveled slowly. About two weeks were spent at Brazoria before De Witt Clinton Harris, her brother, arrived from Harrisburg, bringing a saddle horse for her. Ox-teams were procured for con- veying the baggage, groceries, etc., which they had brought with them from New York. At length the whole party set out on horseback and, as there had been very heavy rains, the prairies most of the distance of fifty miles were entirely covered with water. Arriving at Harrisburg, they found Mrs. Harris living in the only house which had been spared by the Mexicans when they burnt the place a few months before. It stood in the edge of the prairie and escaped because unseen by them and was always known as the Prairie House. The Mexican prisoners, of whom Mrs. Harris had a number, were engaged in rebuilding her home on
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MRS. MARY J. BRISCOE.
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the site of the one destroyed. As there were no saw-mills, it was constructed of hewn logs and some of the same men who had kindled the fire under the old house chopped logs to build the new one. It was here, in the " Prairie House" that Mary Jane first met Andrew Briscoc, who was a warm friend of her mother and brothers, and August 17, 1837, she became his wife, the marriage ceremony being performed by Mr. Isaac Batterson, in the new house, which by that time was partly completed. In the meantime the city of Houston had become the new scat of government and the county seat of Harris County. As Mr. Briscoe's appointment as Chief Justice of the county of Harris necessitated his residence in Houston, he purchased a two-story residence in process of building on Main street, about one block from the capitol and where is now situated the Prince building, on the corner of Main and Prairie streets. Mrs. Briscoe's life is so closely connected with that of her hus- band, that it is unnecessary to repeat her different places of residence. As opportunities to purchase large tracts of land induced him to make long journeys into the interior of the sparsely settled country, she frequently accompanied him, although traveling was attended with danger on account of
the inroads often made by hostile Indians. At Anderson, Grimes County, they stopped over night at the house of Mrs. Kennard, who showed in the floor one loose board, kept purposely so, that in ease of an attack by Indians she could make her escape under the house. After the death of her husband in 1849 Mrs. Briscoe lived for two years on the plantation of his father in Claiborne County, Mississippi, remaining there during the absence of the latter in California, and until after his death, in 1851.
Returning to Texas in 1852, she lived for some years at Anderson, Grimes County, where the Rev. Chas. Gillette had established an Episcopal schoo!, under the title of St. Paul's College, and where she hoped to be able to give her sous a collegiate edu- cation without being separated from them. After a residence of six years there, the school having proved unsuccessful, she moved to Galveston, which offered the best educational advantages of any city in the State. In 1859, at her mother's solicitation, she returned to Harrisburg, where she lived until 1873, when she moved to Houston. Through careful economy she was able to raise and educate her children on a limited income, keeping for them the greater part of the large landed inter- ests held by her husband at the time of his death. An unusual affection characterizes this family worthy of mention and of imitation. While Judge
Briscoe at his death in 1849 left considerable prop- erty, consisting chiefly of land in Texas, yet to this day his children have never sought to obtain any part of it although entitled to it under the community laws of the State, but have left their mother the cx- clusive control of it, thereby showing their deep filial affection and sincere appreciation of her devotion to them in childhood and in youth. She feels a reason- able pride in her husband's connection with the war of Texas Independence and a sincere affection for those who shared with him the dangers of the Revolution. For years she has been a member of the Texas Veterans' Association and takes great pleasure in their annual re-unions. At the earnest solicitation of her friends she wrote an account of one of these re-unions, which was published at the time in several of the newspapers, and is given below :- .
THE TEXAS VETERANS - THEIR LATE MEETING AT TEMPLE.
" At the meeting of the Veteran Association in 1887, Temple was selected as the place for meet- ing on April 20, 1888. It is beautifully situated in a high rolling prairie country, on the Santa Fe Railroad, 245 miles from Galveston. As it is only seven years old, many fears were entertained that the hearts of the citizens were too large for the accommodating capacity of their young town; but all such fears were dispelled, and Temple proved itself equal to the emergency. Everything was managed with tact and skill, and the Veterans were unanimous in their expressions of praise and grati- tude. A committee met them at the railroad depot, and conveyed them to their allotted destina- tions, generally some private house. Mine was the home of Mr. F. H. Ayers, which is beautifully situated. In the view from his gallery the undu- lations of the surrounding country looked, in the distance, like miniature lakes. If all the Veterans were as delightfully located as myself, they will long remember with pleasure their meeting at Temple. Mr. and Mrs. Ayers were the soul of hospitality. Their house seemed made of rubber, or like a street car - never so full but it could take one more; but there the similitude ends, for the dear lady's only regret was that she had one cot which had not been occupied, so there was no standing up.
" On the morning of the 20th, we all repaired to the Opera House, which is large and well ventilated, with very comfortable seats. In addition to the usual decorations of flags and placards, suspended in the center of the stage was . Old Betsy,' an old rifle which had been in most of the battles for
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independence, and is supposed to have killed more Indians than any other gun, besides having supplied the owner's family with food for many years. The owner, Rufus C. Campbell, was not only distin- guished for ' Old Betsy's' unerring aim, but also as having forged the fetters which were put upon Gen. Santa Anna, when it was thought he was planning to escape. Mr. Campbell's widow (who was a daughter of Uncle David Ayers) had the pleasure of hearing Miss Luey Diske, one of their forty-five grandchildren, make a very beautiful and appropriate address upon presenting the Veterans with an elegant satin flag from the ladies of Belton.
" The Rev. J. C. Woollam, our grand old Chap- lain, his colossal frame and white head towering above all others, in his opening prayer brought tears to all eyes. I have met with the Veterans several times, and the last meeting always seems more heartfelt, more glorious, more like a meeting of a holy brotherhood, than any former one. On these occasions familiar faces call up soul-stirring scenes in the past, and thrilling adventures flash upon their memories. As they meet in these an- nual re-unions and exchange heartfelt greetings, they are filled with the desires and hopes of other days - ' The days when life was new, and the heart promised what the fancy drew ' --- the " times that tried men's souls' - when their lives, their fortunes, and their saered honor were pledged for home and country, God and liberty; that period when the repeated assaults of Indians and Mexicans had nerved their arms and fired their hearts to strike for freedom from the tyrannical oppression of Mexico. It comes to them with the freshness of yesterday, when they left their homes and loved ones, to face the foe, drive back the invader, and save their all from destruction. Sooner will their right hand forget its cunn- ing and their tongnes cleave to the roof of their mouths, than they cease to remember and talk of Gonzales, Goliad, Concepcion, the storming of San Antonio, where the gallant Milam fell, the massacre of Fannin, the fall of the Alamo, the battle of San Jacinto, of Plum Creek, the Salado, the Cherokee fight, and other bloody and desperate engagements. The names of all of these, with the date of each engagement, printed upon placards, are always placed upon the walls of the assembly room. As a placard catches the eye of the veterans one will say to another: 'We were together in that fight; don't you remember how you had to hold the mule's nose to keep her from betraying us to the Indians before we were ready for them? ' ' I don't see your wife; the good woman can now
sleep in a white gown if she likes ' - alluding to the custom of our frontier women sleeping in colored gowns so as not to be so good a mark for Indians in case of a night attack. To which the answer will be : ' Oh, yes ; but it always costs some- thing to come to these meetings, and when my wife found I would have to pay full fare for her on the cars, she said as I was so much better of my rheuma- tism, I could make out without her; but she will miss it mightily, as she liked to talk over her Indian seares with those who knew her in the old times, when we would be for weeks together with nothing but venison to eat.'
" It was a touching sight when the genial presi- dent of the Association (himself a hero of many battles) would single out some noted Indian fighter, and taking the old man upon the stage, tell the audience of some of his heroic deeds. How every eye would kindle with enthusiasm, and every voice raise a cheer, and the poor old hero, bursting into tears, would sink into his seat, with not a dry eye around him.
" It is this which makes these meetings so dear to these old ones. At home they are nothing but poor decrepit old men and women, who are outliving their allotted span of life -- fossils that cumber the ground. They know it; they feel it; but when they meet at these reunions, all is changed ; instead of being looked upon as unwelcome intruders, they are treated with the greatest courtesy, with veneration, as heroes, and every man, woman and child seeks to do them honor. It is no wonder that their tears lie near the surface, and are often seen filling their eyes when some gallant youth or beautiful maiden tells of their heroic deeds and the manly fortitude displayed by them in conquering all the hardships, difficulties and dangers by which they were surrounded.
"Nor should admiration and veneration be con- fined to their heroic deeds upon the battlefield. The women of this land should always hold them in grateful remembrance ; for were they not the first men on earth to throw around the wife and mother the protection of the homestead law? Were they not the first to protect woman in the ownership of her separate property, and to give her an interest in the community property? They also surpassed all other legislators, in making provision, for all time to come, for the universal free education of children.
" The memorial service is very solemn and affect- ing, and the Rev. Mr. Stribling always very elo- quent in his sermon. Thirty-nine is the number on the deathi-roll for last year. Among them is the late lamented Col. Charles DeMorse, who
M. LOOSCAN.
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occupied an honored place and felt a sincere interest in the welfare of the Association.
"' We are going, one by one.'
" A little incident connected with last year was brought to mind by hearing the name of a certain veteran read from the death-roll. He had been brought to Mrs. Winkler's home, in Corsicana, very early in the morning, and at breakfast Mrs. Winkler asked him to say grace. The old man turned his face with his hand to his ear, say- ing, 'Cream, but no sugar,' and Mrs. W. asked her own blessing. It was told that the old man said to one of his friends: ' What do you think ; the good lady I am stopping with asked me to say grace at table; I am such an old reprobate, I could think of nothing ; so played deaf, and told her, 'Cream, but no sugar in my coffee.'
" I cannot close this meager sketch of the Vet- erans' meeting without mention of Aunt Nancy, as slie is familiarly called. She is a very well preserved old lady of eighty-one, but does not look it. She is a regular attendant at the meetings, and says she would sell her last hen rather than miss one; her
peculiar style of dress and unsophisticated manner make her conspicuous. Being very anxious that the Veterans' Association should hold its nest meeting at her home, Jacksonville, the Presi- dent invited her to come on the stage and ask the Veterans herself. He escorted her to the front, and Aunt Naney said: ' My dear Veterans, the people of my town want you to come there next year. They will take good care of you. Some say Jacksonville is too small, but we had the Meth- odist conference there, and treated them well, and if you will only come, I will take care of you my- self !' That of course brought down the house. The dear old woman likes to meet those who fought side by side with her husband, who has been dead many years, and no one but his old companions in danger remember him. Some one joked her about marrying. 'No,' says she, 'I have lived thirty years Capt. Kimbro's widow, and expect to die Capt. Kimbro's widow.'
" The people of Temple paid the Veterans the great compliment of asking them to meet there again next year, saying they could do better next year, as they had now learned how. Many thanks to them."
A. M. DIGNOWITY, M. D.,
SAN ANTONIO.
Antone Michael Dignowity was born in Katten- berg, Bohemia, January 16th, 1810, and came of a family possessing some means and enjoying some distinction for intellectual endowments. His edu- cational opportunities were good and he availed himself of them, taking a thorough collegiate course in the Jesuit College of his native place. He came to America at the age of twenty-two, sailing, as his passport recites, from Hamburg, February 17th, 1832, resided for some time after his arrival in the country in different parts of the South and acquired considerable property at Natchez (where he lived longer than elsewhere before coming to Texas), notably a hotel which was destroyed by the great tornado of 18 -. In 1835, while residing in Missis- sippi he made a trip to Texas, extending as far as San Antonio, but soon returned, read medicine at Natchez, Miss., under Drs. Stone and Carrothers, and attended lectures in Cincinnati, Ohio. He adopted the eeleetic system of medicine, then in its infancy, and began its practice in Mississippi. He
shortly after gathered up the fragments of his hotel fixtures and furniture (which had been scattered by the tornado), and chartered the little steamer, " Lady Morgan " and moved to Talequah, I. T., the then recently established seat of government of the Cherokee Nation. Here he practiced his pro- fession for a year or more, during the time fre- quently visiting Little Rock, Atk., where he met and, on February 9th, 1843, married Miss Amanda J. McCann, daughter of Francis M. McCann, who had settled there two years before. Mr. McCann died in 1850, and his wife in 1887, the latter at the age of eighty-seven years. Both drew pensions from the United States government up to the time of their deaths. After his marriage Dr. Dignowity moved to a small place called Illinois Falls in the western part of Arkansas, near the Indian country, and there continued the practice of his profession until the early spring of 1816, when he volunteered under ex-Governor Yell of Arkansas for service in the war between the United States and Mexico.
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With ten others he made his way across the country to San Antonio, it being their intention to join the Texas rangers or some body of volunteers and pro- ceed from that place to the armies of Scott or Taylor beyond the Rio Grande. Within a few hours, how- ever, after Dr. Dignowity arrived at San Antonio, while at the table taking his first meal in the place be was hastily summoned to attend a Mexican and an Indian who had been engaged in a street affray, and his presence as a physician thus becoming known and there being urgent need for his services he was prevailed upon to remain and devote his skill and energies, for a time, at least, to the afflicted of that place. He soon had a good prac- tice and finally made up his mind to make San An-
from the press, will show. As by a close vote the State decided to secede, he, together with other prominent men of his section, had to leave the coun- try and early in 1861 weut North, making his way over land through Texas, the Indian Territory and Arkansas on horseback and finally, after much suf- fering, reached Washington City, where he secared employment under the government and remained during the entire period of the war.
He was a great sufferer by the war, having most of his property swept away and his health badly impaired. Returning to Texas in 1869 he did not resume the practice of his profession, but devoted his energies to the task of gathering up the frag- ments of his fortune. He followed this vigorously
A. M. DIGNOWITY, M. D.
lonio his home. He accordingly sent for and was joined by his family, which he had left at Little Rock, and from that time on until the opening of the war between the States, (1861) devoted his time to the practice of medicine and to land speculation, both of which yielded him good financial returns. On the great issue which led to a rupture between the Northern and Southern States, Dr. Dignowity was in harmony with a majority of the prominent and patriotic men of his section, who, like himself, were bitteriy opposed to secession. He was always opposed to slavery, even before the agitation of that question in this country, as the two last books written by him, " Bohemia under Austrian despot- ism " and " American despotism," soon to be issued
and with a fair degree of success until his death, April 22d, 1875. Ile left surviving him a widow, five sons and one daughter, the sons being An- tone Francis, Edward Lucien, Henry Louis, Charles Leonard, and James Victor and the daugh- ter, Imogene Teresa Dignowity. One son, Albert Wentzel, the second in age of his family, was killed February 25th, 1872, at Piedras Negras, Mexico, while a soldier in the army of the patriot Juarez, and a daughter preceded the father to the grave, dying in childhood.
Dr. Dignowity's career was an exceptional one, made so by an exceptional mental and moral organ- ism. He was not only an accomplished physician but a successful man of business. While a student
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and close investigator, the cast of his mind was practical. He endeavored during all his years to live along the lines of fairness and moral rectitude, seeking to do what was right because it was right and not from motives of policy or gain. He was greatly devoted to his family and was an ardent lover of his adopted country. He became a Repub-
lican on the organization of the Republican party, and was ever afterwards an ardent advocate of the principles of that party. He was reared a Catholic and during his earlier years was an active communi- cant of the Church, but his views on theological ques- tions gradually underwent a change and he closed his life with a strong leaning toward Spiritualism.
MRS. AMANDA J. DIGNOWITY, SAN ANTONIO.
Mrs. Dignowity's maiden name was MeCann. Her father was Francis M. McCann, born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and her mother before marriage was Sarah Cramer, a native of Lancaster County, Penn. Her father came to America at the age of nine years with an uncle and settled in Baltimore, Md., where he grew to maturity. At about the age of twenty-one he enlisted in the United States army under Capt. Hale Hamilton, fought through the war of 1812, taking part in the battle of New Orleans under Jackson, and was mustered out of services at the elose of hostilities, as lieutenant of his company. In August, 1817, he married Miss Cramer, of Pennsylvania, a nicee of Congressman Cramer, of that State, and moved to the mountains of Western Virginia. There, some three years later, July 28, 1820, the subject of this notice was born. From Virginia, Mr. McCann moved to Hagarstown, Md., and, after some Josses and many changes, he started with his family to Louisville, Ky. By accident he was compelled to stop at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained several years. From that city Amanda was sent to the convent school at Loretta, where she remained for four years, obtain- ing there the greater part of her education. Fall- ing in with the tide of immigration to the South and West, Mr. McCann drifted to Mississippi and finally, in 1840, settled in Little Rock, Ark., where his family was domiciled and his servants quartered on & headright some miles outside of the town. This headright he had received for his services in the war of 1812. Two years later the family also settled on the headright, which now became the homestead, the affairs of which were ordered and conducted after the manner customary on the old- time.Southern plantations.
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