The texas indians who attacked austin's colony

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Copyright 2017. Do not use without author’s permission. Digital publishing forthcoming, summer 2017.

The Texas Constitution:

The People, History, and Government of the Lone Star State

Chapter 2 Migration and Immigration to Texas

Chapter 2 examines early migration and immigration into Texas. Upon completing the chapter, you should be able to demonstrate knowledge about:

 Patterns of immigration into Austin’s Colony  Early African and African-American movements into Texas  Texas settlement patterns by specific immigrant groups  Early settlements and communities in Texas  The names of key individuals and the settlement of Texas

Austin’s Colony

The vast majority of Anglo-Americans that arrived at Austin’s Colony were of British

ancestry,1 but a number of Irish colonists were also counted among the original settlers.2

Most of the Old Three Hundred were farmers by trade and tended to arrive in Texas as

independent, single family units instead of in groups.3 The largest numbers had migrated

from the Trans-Appalachian South and were part of a larger trend in early 19th century

America toward westward migration.4 Stephen F. Austin, in an effort to avoid controversy

and conflict among the colonists, generally accepted into his colony only those who were of

“higher” economic standing, and several families including the Bells (British), Bordens

(British), Kuykendalls (Dutch), and Rabbs (Austrian) already possessed substantial

economic means before they arrived at Austin’s Colony. Furthermore, only four of the

original 300 grantees were illiterate5 and a large number were slaveholders when they

1 Long, Christopher, “Old Three Hundred,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/umo01 2 “Irish Texans,” Texas Almanac, http://texasalmanac.com/topics/culture/irish/irish-texans 3 Long, Christopher, “Old Three Hundred,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/umo01 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.

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arrived and brought their slaves to the colony. By the fall of 1825, sixty-nine of the families

in Austin's Colony owned a total of 443 slaves which accounted for nearly a quarter of the

colony’s total population of 1,790.6

African and African-American Movements into Texas

The arrival of slaves at Austin’s Colony increased the number of Africans living in Texas

but did not mark the beginning of African movement into Texas. Beginning with Esteban’s

arrival in 1528 as the slave of a member of de Vaca’s crew, African movements into Texas

increased largely as a result of slaveholders bringing indentured servants into the area.

Under Spanish rule, free blacks were accepted socially and permitted to work in

professions or skilled trades and under Mexican rule had all the legal and political rights of

citizenship.7 Even though the Mexican government legally abolished slavery in 1829, there

were approximately 5,000 enslaved people living in Texas in early 1830,8 and by the time

Texas became a republic in 1836, slavery was an established and thriving institution that

subjugated approximately 13,000 African people.9

The Constitution of the Republic of Texas (the Constitution of 1836), gave preference to

Anglo-American settlers, protected the rights of Anglo people in the unoccupied lands of

the republic and, significantly, made specific exemptions of Africans and the descendants of

Africans and Indians from state citizenship. In early February, 1840, the Republic of Texas

passed An Act Concerning Free Persons of Color. The act held that unless the Congress of the

Republic ruled that a petitioner could stay, all free non-white persons were required to

leave the state by January 1, 1842, or be sold into slavery. Furthermore, any free non-white

person caught entering Texas would be arrested, jailed, and put up for public auction if a

$1,000 bail wasn't paid.10 The act, combined with the Republic’s constitutional protection

of the ownership of both slaves and land, created an incentive for southerners in the Deep

6 Ibid. 7 Lonestar Genealogy, “Research in The Lonestar State: Immigration to Texas,” http://www. lonestargenealogy.com/courses/texas/migration.html 8 “African Americans,” Bullock Museum Online, http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/campfire- stories/african-americans. 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid.

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South to expand the system of slavery westward into Texas. The number of slaves in Texas

rose dramatically from 5,000 in 1830 to over 182,000 by the end of the Civil War.11

Emancipation for African people living in Texas was announced on June 19, 1865. In an

effort to place severe restrictions on the rights of newly emancipated black Texans, the

Texas legislature passed a series of laws that included “Black Codes,” Jim Crow laws, poll

taxes, literacy tests, and restrictive covenants. In 1867, the United States Congress

eliminated the Black Codes and ushered in a new phase of Reconstruction in Texas. African

Americans made substantial contributions to the transition of Texas from a slave-labor

state. Ten African-American delegates at the Constitutional Convention of 1868–1869

helped to write a new state constitution that protected civil rights; established the state's

first public education system; and, extended the franchise to all men regardless of race.

Forty-one African American Texans served in the Texas legislature between 1868 and

1900.12 After the Civil War, many African American Texans moved from the state's rural

areas to cities such as Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. The townships they

established on the outskirts of urban cities were referred to as "freedmen towns,” which

became distinct African-American communities. 13 Some of the freedmen town

communities still exist today including “Deep Ellum” in Dallas,14 and the Fourth Ward, later

known as “Little Harlem,” in Houston.”15

For the Record: The Texas Origins of “Juneteenth” On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, which read in part: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”16

11 Ginsberg, Benjamin, Lowi, Weir, Tolbert, Champagne, Harpham, We the People: An Introduction to American Politics, 9th edition, Texas edition, 2013, (New York: W. W. Norton & Company), p. 781. 12 W. Marvin Dulaney, “African Americans,” Texas State Historical Association online, The Handbook of Texas, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pkaan. 13 Ibid. 14 Texas Monthly, staff article, “Why Dallas?” (December 1973), http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/why- dallas/. 15 Carol McDavid, David Bruner, and Robert Marcom, Urban Archeology and the Pressures of Gentrification: Claiming, Naming, and Negotiating ‘Freedom’ in Freedmen’s Town, Houston,” http://freedmanstownarchaeology.rice.edu/reports/McDavid_et_al%20_BTAS_79_2008.pdf. 16 Acosta, Teresa Palomo, “Juneteenth,” The Handbook of Texas (online), Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01.

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News of emancipation traveled slowly to Texas, and by the time General Order No. 3 was announced, the “Executive” to whom Granger was referring, President Abraham Lincoln, was dead. The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was well on its way to ratification and the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in the Confederacy (at least on paper) had taken effect two-and-a-half years prior to the announcement of the Order in Texas.17 Despite its long delayed arrival, General Order No. 3 by no means signaled the instant freedom of most of the Lone Star State’s 250,000 slaves. Planation masters decided when and how to announce freedom to their slaves and it was not uncommon for them to delay the news until after the harvest. In Galveston, the ex-Confederate mayor flouted the Army by forcing freed people back to work,18 and terror and violence toward blacks followed the announcement of the order. Freed black men and women in Texas nonetheless transformed June 19th from a date marking the announcement of an unheeded military order into a day of celebration described as “one of the most inspiring grassroots efforts of the post-Civil War period.”19 The first “Juneteenth” celebration was held in 1866 - exactly one year after the announcement of Order No. 3 in Texas20 – and a larger celebration was held in Austin the following year.21 Ex-slaves in many parts of Texas purchased land, or "emancipation grounds," specifically for the purpose of holding Juneteenth gatherings. Some of the originally purchased property still serve as gathering places for Juneteenth celebrations including Emancipation Park in Houston (purchased in 1872), Comanche Crossing - now known as Booker T. Washington Park - in Mexia (purchased 1898); and Emancipation Park in East Austin (purchased in 1907).

The celebration of Juneteenth spread from Texas to the neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and then to Alabama, Florida, and California as African-American Texans migrated after emancipation.22 Today, Juneteenth celebrations are held in most if not all of the 50 states, and almost all states now have some form of legislation or declaration establishing Juneteenth as a state holiday or day of recognition.23

Spanish and Spanish Canary Islander Immigration to Texas

The Spanish Colonial era in Texas began around 1689 with the systematic establishment

of missions and presidios (the secular counterparts to missions), designed to spread

17 Gates, Henry Louis, “What is Juneteenth? The First Juneteenth,” Series: The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, Public Broadcasting System (PBS), http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to- cross/history/what-is-juneteenth/. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Acosta, Teresa Palomo, “Juneteenth,” The Handbook of Texas (online), Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01. 22 Ibid. 23 National Registry of Juneteenth Organizations and Supporters, http://www.juneteenth.com/ worldwide.htm.

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Christianity and establish Spanish control over the region.24 The first Spanish missions

were established in the 1680s near present-day San Angelo, El Paso, and Presidio – areas

that were closely tied to settlements in what is today New Mexico. In 1690, Spanish

missions spread into East Texas after news surfaced of La Salle’s incursion into the area. In

East Texas, the Spanish settlers encountered the Caddo Indians, whom they called “Tejas”

(derived from the Caddoan word “Tay-yas”, meaning friend).25 Evidence of the early

Spanish mission and presidio system can still be seen today with the Alamo in San Antonio;

the remains of Mission San Antonio Valero and nearby La Villita in and near San Antonio;

La Bahía, which includes a presidio and missions, near present-day Goliad; and, Los Adaes

(which served as the capital of Spanish Texas) near present-day Robeline, Louisiana.26

Founded in 1718 as a combination of civilian, military, and mission communities, San

Antonio de Bexar (originally settled as San Fernando de Bexar) proved to be the most

successful Spanish presidio system in Texas. The earliest settlers to San Antonio were

Spanish Canary Islanders. A year after San Antonio was founded, the Marqués de San

Miguel de Aguayo made a report to the king of Spain proposing that families be transported

from the Canary Islands, Galicia, and Havana to populate the province of Texas. His plan

was approved, and under the leadership of Juan Leal Goraz, a group of fifty-six Canary

Islanders (fifteen families) traveled by ship and then proceeded overland to San Antonio de

Bexar, where they arrived on March 9, 1731.27 The Canary Island immigrants formed the

nucleus of the villa of San Fernando de Béxar, the first regularly organized civil

government in Texas.28

Spanish royal authorities continued their efforts to increase immigration into Texas in

hopes that civilian settlements consisting of artisans, farmers, and traders would help

offset the growing expense of maintaining Spanish military installations and presidios

throughout Texas.29 From 1773 until 1824 when Texas was joined to the Mexican state of

24 Whitehurst, Katie, “Spanish Colonial: 1689-1821,” Texas PBS and Humanities Texas, The Summerlee Foundation, http://texasourtexas.texaspbs.org/the-eras-of-texas/spanish-colonial/. 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid. 27 “Canary Islanders,” The Texas Handbook (online), Texas State Historical Association, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/poc01. 28 Ibid. 29 De la Teja, Jesús F., “San Fernando de Bexar,” The Texas Handbook Online, Texas State Historical Association, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvs16.

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Coahuila, royal authorities lured an additional 400 families of Canary Islanders to Texas by

offering them generous land grants and the right to carry the official title of hidalgo, or

noble.30 Today, several old families of San Antonio can trace their descent from the Canary

Island colonists.31 And, the claim can easily be made that without the influence of Canary

Islanders, the state’s famous “Tex-Mex” cuisine would be far less flavorful. The immigrants

brought with them the spices of their homeland - cilantro, cumin, and chile peppers – and

combined them with local ingredients like beef, onions, pecans, pinto beans, and the flavor

of mesquite wood to produce a distinct brand of Texas cooking.32

The Wild and Wonderful Women of Texas: María Gertrudis Pérez (1790 – 1832)

Maria Gertrudis Perez (also known as Maria Perez Cassiano), was a descendent of the Canary Islanders that in the 18th century formed the first organized civil government in Texas. She was born in 1790 in the family homestead at the Royal Presidio of San Antonio de Béxar, and at the age of 24, married a man almost forty years her senior. Her husband, an experienced military commander and Governor of the State of Coahuila, was often gone on military expeditions in the western Mexican provinces.33 Important to the story of both Maria Perez and the history of Texas women is the fact that Spanish law in 1814 – and later the Constitution of Coahuila y Tejas of 1827 – allowed women community and individual property rights which meant that women were considered by law to be equal to men in terms of inheritance, property ownership, and property administration. During her wealthy and influential husband’s frequent absences, Maria would fully assume his duties and administer his estate. Known as “La Brigaviella” (the Brigadier General), Maria regularly dressed in an embroidered military jacket and reviewed on horseback the troops in San Antonio’s Military Plaza.34

30 Ibid. 31 “Canary Islanders,” The Texas Handbook (online), Texas State Historical Association, https://tshaonline. org/handbook/online/articles/poc01. 32 Victoria Haneveer, “How the Cuisine of the Canary Islands Influenced Tex-Mex”, Houstonian Magazine, August 19, 2016, https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2016/8/19/how-the-cuisine-of-the-canary-islands- is-related-to-tex-mex 33 Acosta, Teresa Palomo, “Maria Gertrudis Perez Cordero Cassiano,” Women in Texas History, Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas History. http://www.womenintexashistory.org/audio/ /cassiano. 34 Ibid.

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Native American Indians in Texas

Native American Indian tribes roamed Texas for many centuries prior to the arrival of

Europeans. All areas of the state contain rich histories about Native American Indian tribes

indigenous to their region but one area plays a particularly significant role in

understanding the plight of Native Americans after European invasion. Located in the north

central section of the Texas Panhandle, present-day Hutchinson County is now extremely

arid due to a drastic decline in the water table; but, the region was once filled with many

springs fed by the Canadian River that sustained abundant wildlife – including herds of

thousands of buffalo.35 Hutchinson County is the site of Adobe Walls, the name given to a

couple of trading posts built by Anglo settlers around 1843. Indian raids along the Santa Fe

Trail prompted the commanding general of the Department of New Mexico to send a

military team led by Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson to “punish” the Kiowa and Comanche

tribes for the raids. Carson and his men attacked a Kiowa village in November, 1864, and

then retired to Adobe Walls to rest. There, more than 1,000 members of the Kiowa and

Comanche tribes launched an unsuccessful counter-attack against Carson’s well-armed

militia.36 The Indians’ defeat at the First Battle of Adobe Walls signaled an “all clear” for

Anglo merchants and buffalo hunters to pour into the area. Merchants from Dodge City,

Kansas, followed buffalo hunters into the Texas Panhandle and established a large complex

at Adobe Walls that included a corral, restaurant, stores, and saloons to serve the 200 - 300

buffalo hunters that roamed the area.37

Early in the morning of June 27, 1874, a combined force of some 700 Comanche,

Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho warriors led by Comanche Chief Quanah Parker attacked

the buffalo camp. The camp was inhabited by only 28 Anglo men - including William

Barclay “Bat” Masterson and William “Billy” Dixon – at the time of the attack; but, the

Indian warriors were virtually defenseless against the hunters’ superior weapons. An

estimated 70 Indians were killed and Chief Parker was wounded.38 The Second Battle of

35 Weiser, Kathy, “Hutchinson County – Panhandle Frontier,” Legends of America (online), June, 2013.

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-hutchinsoncounty.html 36 Weiser, Kathy, “Adobe Walls – Buffalo and Battles,” Legends of America (online), June, 2016. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-adobewalls.html#First%20Battle%20of%20Adobe%20Walls 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid.

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Adobe Walls was a crushing defeat for the Indian tribes but they nonetheless continued to

raid in desperate and final attempts to retain their ancestral and spiritual homelands. The

Red River War (1874-75) marked the final chapter in the centuries-long history of Native

American sovereignty in Texas. On June 2, 1875, the Comanche Indians and Chief Parker

surrendered at Fort Sill (near present-day Lawton, Oklahoma).39 The surrender is

significant to Texas history for a number of reasons: it was the final subjugation by Anglos

of the powerful Comanche, Kiowa, and southern Cheyenne Indians; it marked the virtual

extinction of the southern herd of buffalo; and, it signaled the opening of the Texas

Panhandle to white settlement and the accompanying West Texas ranching industry.40 The

Red River War also resulted in the final relocation of the Southern Plains Indians onto

reservations as the United States government forced the last Indians living east of the

Pecos River into the Oklahoma territory.

For the Record: Chief Quanah Parker (ca. 1845-1911) The exact birthplace of Chief Quanah Parker is disputed. Some historians claim he was born on Elk Creek south of the Wichita Mountains in what is now Oklahoma, and others claim his birthplace was near Cedar Lake southeast of Seminole, Texas.41 He was the son of Peta Nocona, a noted war chief of the Noconi band of Comanche, and Cynthia Ann Parker, an Anglo woman captured in 1836 during a Comanche raid on Parker's Fort (near present-day Groesbeck, Texas). Cynthia Parker converted to the Indian way of life and remained with the Noconi Comanche for 24 years. In 1860, the Texas Rangers and a militia led by Ranger Captain “Sul” Ross raided a Comanche encampment on the Pease River (near present-day Quanah, Texas, in Foard County) in retaliation against recent Comanche attacks on white settlers. Chief Peta Nocona was killed in the raid and Quanah Parker’s mother and sister were captured and incarcerated. The battle decimated the Noconi band and forced Quanah, now an orphan, to take refuge with the Quahada Comanches of the Llano Estacado.42 Parker and the Quahadas were able to hold the Texas plains against the United States Cavalry for several years in the 1850s and 1860s. But, as the Indians’ primary source of subsistence – buffalo - was being decimated by Anglo hunters pouring into the region, Parker and the Quahadas formed a multi-tribal alliance dedicated to expelling the hunters from the plains. The two battles of Adobe Walls proved disastrous to the alliance and within a year the Quahadas

39 James L. Haley, “Red River War,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qdr02. 40 Ibid. 41 Hosmer, Brian C., “Parker, Quanah,” Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fpa28. 42 Ibid.

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surrendered their independence at the Red River War and moved to the Kiowa-Comanche reservation in southwestern Oklahoma.43 In an attempt to unite the various Comanche bands in Oklahoma, federal agents named Quanah Parker chief and the Kiowa-Comanche acquiesced to the government’s bestowment of the honor. Over the next quarter century, Chief Parker worked to promote self-sufficiency and self-reliance by supporting the construction of schools on reservation lands and promoting the creation of a ranching industry by entering into agreements with Anglo ranchers to allow them to lease grazing lands within the Comanche reservation. But, a growing movement to strip the Comanche of their lands resulted in the federal government’s dissolution of the Kiowa-Comanche reservation in 1901. For the remaining years of his life Parker owned and operated a profitable ranch and became very wealthy as the result of shrewd investments.44 Chief Parker adopted some of the Anglo ways of life but he never cut his braids and remained a member of the Native American Church credited with introducing and encouraging the use of peyote among the tribes in Oklahoma (despite the fact his son, White Parker, became a Methodist minister). He died on February 23, 1911, and was buried beside his mother in Post Oak Mission Cemetery near Cache, Oklahoma. In 1957, the expansion of a missile base forced the relocation of Post Oak Mission Cemetery and the reburial of Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker in the Fort Sill Post Cemetery at Lawton, Oklahoma. On August 9, 1957, Quanah was buried with full military honors in a section of that cemetery now known as Chief's Knoll.45

Forced migration of Native American Indians into Oklahoma had occurred before the

Red River War largely as a result of Indian defeats during armed conflicts such as the Battle

of the Neches in Van Zandt and Henderson counties, near present-day Chandler.46 After

Texas entered the Union in 1845, the federal government assumed control of Indian affairs

but had no authority to create reservations in Texas since the state retained ownership of

all public lands. In 1852, the Texas legislature passed a bill authorizing the governor to

work with the federal government to set aside Texas land reserved for Indian resettlement.

A few Texas reservation attempts failed to work because Native Americans had neither the

desire nor the intention to relocate to the assigned areas. Three resettlement attempts did,

however, prove successful. The Alabama-Coushatta Indians, described as having “some

sort of genius for peace and diplomacy,”47 remained distant from conflicts during the long

period of Native American-Anglo animosity in Texas. Even Mirabeau B. Lamar, a

43 Ibid. 44 Ibid. 45 Ibid. 46 http://texasalmanac.com/topics/culture/american-indian/american-indian. 47 Dickerson, W. E. S., “Indian Reservations,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bpi01.

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consummate foe of Native Americans, publically stated that the Alabama-Coushatta tribes

should be guaranteed occupancy of land in Texas.48 In 1854, the state legislature

appropriated money for the purchase of 1,280 acres of land in Polk County to be reserved

for Alabama Indians and Coushatta Indians, in a combined reservation.49 In addition to the

Alabama-Coushatta Reservation, two Native American Indian reservations continue to exist

in Texas – one occupied by the Tigua Indians in the city limits of El Paso and Ysleta in El

Paso County, and another by the Kickapoo Indians on the Rio Grande close to present-day

Eagle Pass.50 The oldest of the three reservations, the Alabama-Coushatta, is the only one to

have had land guarantees by the Republic of Texas republic, the State of Texas, and the

United States government.

German Immigration and Settlement

The non-Spanish European ethnic group to make the greatest impact on Texas was

German. The German-Texan culture started in 1831 when Frederick Ernst, “Father of

German Immigration to Texas,” received a grant of more than 4,000 acres in present-day

Austin County.51 In 1840, the Adelsverein – the Society for the Protection of German

Immigrants in Texas – was created in Germany, and through the Society’s sponsorship

thousands of Germans immigrated to Texas. Upon their arrival in Galveston or Indianola,52

the immigrants traveled to Houston and then on to the valleys between the Brazos and

Colorado rivers. Most of the original German immigrants to Texas settled in Central Texas

around present-day New Braunfels and Fredericksburg.53 German immigration and

migration exploded after Texas entered the Union in 1845, and until 1877 German

speakers in the city of San Antonio outnumbered both Hispanics and Anglos.54

48 Dickerson, W. E. S., “Indian Reservations,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bpi01. 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid. 51 Jordan, Terry G., “Germans,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/png02. 52 Malsch, Brownson, “Indianola, TX,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvi11. 53 Jordan, Terry G., “Germans,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/png02. 54 Fehrenbach, T. R., “San Antonio, TX,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hds02

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For the Record: Indianola, Texas Indianola, originally named “Indian Point,” was founded on Matagorda Bay in present-day Calhoun County in August 1846 by the commissioner general of the Adelsverein as the landing place for German immigrants bound for western Texas under the sponsorship of the Society. Indianola played a crucial role in the early history of Texas. It served as the chief port through which European and American immigrants flowed into western Texas; was an essential deep-water port during the Mexican War; served as an army supply depot to frontier forts in western Texas; was the terminus for Charles Morgan’s New York-based steamship line; was the beginning point of a military road that led to San Antonio, Austin, and Chihuahua; and was the landing place of the “camel experiment” (1855-1863) designed to transport military supplies into the American southwest. Indianola was second only to Galveston as the largest port in Texas until a catastrophic hurricane hit the port in 1875. The town was again hit by a hurricane in 1886, and by 1887 the site had been abandoned. Indianola is now a ghost town marked only by a historical marker commissioned by the Texas Historical Commission.55

Many German-Texans were staunch opponents of slavery. Under the leadership of

Freier Mann Verein, the Freeman’s Association was established in Texas and the issue of

German opposition gained public attention during the annual Staats-Saengerfest (State

Singers Festival) held in San Antonio in May 1854.56 The association adopted a platform

that declared slavery an evil and asserted the United States government should help the

states to abolish slavery.57 During the time the Freeman’s Association was established in

the state, German-Texas freemasons, freethinkers, political activists, and liberals migrated

to the banks of Cypress Creek in Kendall County where in 1854 the town of Comfort, known

for its Union sentiment during the Civil War, was established.58

Czech and Slovak Immigration

55 See Malsch, Brownson, “Indianola, TX,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvi11. 56 Biesele, Rudolph L., “German Attitude Toward the Civil War, The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/png01. 57 Ibid. 58 Lich, Glen E., “Comfort, Texas,” The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical