Joseph H. Hawkins
Lake Jackson, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Joseph H. Hawkins Native Virginian Joseph H. Hawkins practiced law in Kentucky, where he served as state legislator and U.S. congressman before moving to New Orleans. There he befriended Stephen F. Austin, who was broke and reluctant to complete his father's colonization plans on his own. Hawkins encouraged him to continue, offering him a job and, later, capital for the project. In 1821, the two men formalized an agreement in which Austin acknowledged receipt of $4,000 and agreed to divide equally the lands he would receive as colonizer, or empresario. Hawkins sent boats of supplies and colonists to meet Austin in Texas but died in 1823, leaving his wife, George Ann (Nicholas), and five children deeply in debt. She returned with the children to her native Kentucky to be near her family and Hawkins' brother, Littleberry. She appointed Nathaniel Cox to help settle her husband's estate. In 1824, the Mexican government gave Austin, as empresario, almost 100,000 acres, but law required a person to reach majority age and live in Texas to own land, so the Hawkins children could not immediately claim their share. Austin worked with Cox to find a suitable agreement and, in 1833, conveyed to the Hawkins heirs some 42,000 acres of land in and around Brazoria county. Each of Hawkins' children lived briefly in Texas. Edmund St. John (d. 1836) was the first, followed by Norbourne, who died at Goliad in 1836, George (d. 1837), and then Joseph Thomas (d. 1850). Mary Jane came in 1839 but, after her husband died, returned to Kentucky, where she stayed. Although none of his heirs persevered in Texas, Hawkins' legacy in Texas is apparent in the success of Austin's first colony and all that sprang from the early Texas settlement. (2002)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Joseph H. Hawkins, a Virginia-born lawyer who served in Kentucky's legislature and Congress, befriended a broke and hesitant Stephen F. Austin in New Orleans. He urged Austin to carry on his late father's colonization plans, offering him work and, in an 1821 agreement, $4,000 in capital in exchange for half the lands Austin would receive as empresario. Hawkins sent boats of supplies and colonists to Texas but died in 1823 deeply in debt; years later Austin conveyed some 42,000 acres to his heirs, though none remained in Texas.
Why it matters
Hawkins's forgotten backing helped make Austin's first colony possible, a reminder of the financiers behind the Anglo-American settlement of Texas.
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Related people
- · Joseph H. Hawkins
- · Stephen F. Austin
Themes & tags
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