Irish Immigrants in Refugio
Refugio, Refugio County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The history of settlement in Refugio is closely associated with Ballygarrett, County Wexford, Ireland. Irish natives James Power (c. 1788-1852) and James Hewetson (1796-1870), both of whom immigrated to the United States in the early 19th Century and later became citizens of Mexico, obtained permission from the Mexican government to oversee the immigration of more than 200 Irish families to Texas in the 1830s. The first group of Irish settlers arrived on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1834. A cholera epidemic and the loss of provisions and equipment in rough waters as the immigrants reached the shore delayed their arrival in Refugio, where they were to settle near the former Spanish mission of Nuestra Senora del Refugio. The colony soon was established, however, and almost immediately the new settlers were embroiled in the cause of Texas independence from Mexico. Many Irishmen fought in the Texas Army and later served in the Republic of Texas Congress. The Irish people established a lasting presence in the Refugio area. Many descendants of the early immigrants still reside in the area, some on land granted to their ancestors in the 1830s.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Refugio's roots reach back to Ballygarrett in County Wexford, Ireland, home of empresarios James Power and James Hewetson, who won Mexican permission to bring more than 200 Irish families to Texas in the 1830s. The first colonists arrived in 1834, surviving cholera and shipwreck-rough surf before settling near the old Spanish mission of Nuestra Señora del Refugio. Almost at once they were swept into the fight for Texas independence, and their descendants still farm land granted to their ancestors.
Why it matters
The Irish colony shows how immigrant communities shaped Texas at its founding, adding an Old World strand to a Spanish and Mexican borderland.
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Related people
- · James Power
- · James Hewetson
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Empresario James Power
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Born in Ireland, James Power reached Mexican Texas in 1823 and, with fellow Irishman James Hewetson, won empresario contracts to plant Irish Catholic and Mexican families along the coastal plain between the Guadalupe and Nueces. His recruiting voyage from Ireland ended in sickness and shipwreck, yet the colony endured. A friend of Sam Houston, Power signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and Constitution and later served in the Republic's Senate.
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