Hephzibeth Looker Taylor
Cuero, DeWitt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in South Caroline; married Josiah Taylor, October 1, 1807; came to Texas in 1824. After his death in 1830, she applied for a 1-league land grant in the Green De Witt Colony, based on Josiah Taylor's colonization certificate from the Empresario. On July 26, 1831, she received the grant. Her children were: William, Hardina, Johanna, Creed, Josiah, Pitkin, Rufus, James, Mary Jane; and by her second marriage, Joshua, son of Patrick Dowlearn. Recorded - 1973
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Widowed in 1830, Hephzibeth Looker Taylor claimed her family's place in colonial Texas by petitioning for a league of land under her late husband's colonization certificate in Green DeWitt's colony. On July 26, 1831, the grant was hers—a rare instance of a woman securing frontier land in her own right. She raised nine children from her first marriage and one from her second on that hard-won ground.
Why it matters
Her successful land claim shows how widowed women could exercise property rights on the Mexican-Texas frontier, a foothold of independence uncommon elsewhere in the era.
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Related people
- · Hephzibeth Looker Taylor
- · Josiah Taylor
- · Green DeWitt
Related events
- · DeWitt Colony land grant (1831)
Themes & tags
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