Headrights for Texas Settlers

Even before Texas became a Republic, the Spanish then the Mexicans were giving land grants to encourage settlers to come to live in Tejas.

Moses Austin became an empresario, entering into a contract with the Spanish government in January 1821, agreeing to bring three hundred Catholic families to settle along the Brazos River lands. He selected colonists, allocated lands and oversaw the Mexican law.

When he died, his son Stephen F. Austin took over the contract. Other important empresarios were Green DeWitt, Benjamin Milam, and Sterling Robertson and several others. Each head of household was awarded a league (four thousand four hundred twenty-eight and four-tenths acres of grazing land) and a labor (one hundred seventy-seven and one-tenth cropland) and the empresario, for his compensation, received five leagues and five labors for each one hundred families he settled.

After Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836, the Republic of Texas was born. The cash-strapped new nation used land grants to pay off the veterans of San Jacinto and other battles and awarded heads of families a First Class Headright—a league and a labor, over four thousand acres per man. That the settlers be of the Catholic religion was no longer a requirement.

As more pilgrims answered the call and journeyed to Texas for a new start, the Republic stopped giving First Class Headrights. Though the previous recipients who held the certificates could transfer ownership. The new owner could settle the land, survey it, and were required to live on it for three years in order to patent it—receive title deed to the land.

Up until October 1837, the second class headrights (Twelve hundred eight acres for heads of household and half that for single men were awarded) were offered, and after until January 1840, the grants went to third class giving half those amounts. After January 1840, fourth class headrights with the same acreage (six hundred forty to families, three hundred forty for single men) were issued by the Congress of the Republic of Texas.

This was why my fictitious families, the O’Neals, Van Zandts, and Worleys, headed to Texas from Tennessee in GONE TO TEXAS, the coming-in-September book one of my new Family Saga series Cross Timber Romances. It will also be a part of an exciting new collection fashioned around my favorite holiday—Thanksgiving! Be watching for more news about the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection!
 
The headrights didn’t mean a man owned the land, only that he had a right to make it his own by following the  requirements. To own it, he had to mark the corners, live on it three years, farm ten acres in a crop, survey it, then take care of the paperwork at one of the thirty-eight Government Land Offices (GLO) across the Republic where the Texas settler became a citizen landowner, claiming his title deed for the land.

So if you’re ever driving through Texas and some ranches stretch on for mile after mile, like the Cross Arrow right down the Farm-to-Market from me here in Red River County, rest assured that once upon a time, someone like Henry Buckmeyer, the patriarch of my Texas Romance Family Saga (1832-1950, over ten decades and five generations—nine books strong) obtained vast properties by marking the corners, living on it, farming a portion of it, then taking care of their paperwork at the GLO (government land office).

Bio: Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and a quick scroll through her novels’ rankings by Christian readers attests to the Father’s faithfulness. She loves writing almost as much as singing the new songs He gives her—look her up on YouTube to hear a few. Her high school sweetheart husband won her heart fifty-two years ago and in June 2018, the McAdoos celebrate their Golden anniversary. Blessed with four children and seventeen grandsugars, Ron and Caryl live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas, waiting expectantly for God to open the next door.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder & My Love for Little House on the Prairie

Ever since I was a little girl, watching Little House on the Prairie, reading the books and pretending I was Laura Ingalls - I’ve been in love with the history of the settlers of North America, and everything related to pioneer times.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

My dream is to someday make the journey to where Laura Ingalls was born, the places they settled and where she is buried.  For some reason I’ve never understood, I’ve always felt a connection to her.  The books she wrote later in life, based on her childhood were favourites of mine growing up, and I read them more times than I could count.

While the TV series wasn’t entirely accurate about her life, (the series is based around Walnut Grove, which she had in truth only lived for a short time, for example), it generated a love for the life these early settlers lived.  They lived in a time that was so hard to imagine, yet so simple that I sometimes long for the chance to live in those times.

Family was the most important thing to these early pioneers.  There were no TV’s, no phones and no electronics that take up so much of our lives now.  After supper, they all sat down together as a family, the kids would play together outside, or they would likely have sat and listened to stories - after they’d done their chores.

I know the times were likely so difficult, and such a struggle for them to survive.  But, I try to imagine a cold winter night, around the fire with the family talking and playing together.  Maybe some of the kids would be reading a book.

Compared to today’s lifestyles, with kids being rushed to different activities each night, with no one sitting down to eat supper together.  And, then when they are home, the kids and parents are all involved in their own devices - Facebook, texting, watching Youtube.  No one just unplugs and enjoys each others company any more.

Road leading to our getaway place

Every summer, my family spends time out on an acreage of land my father owns.  There is no power (except for generators to recharge batteries), no running water and it’s entirely set away from the rest of the world.  I love spending time there, and so do my kids.

We go for walks, we listen to the coyotes at night (which we admittedly don't really enjoy!), look at the stars around our bonfire - and I sometimes imagine we are transported to a different time when family was the most important thing in life.

I know Laura Ingalls would have had such a hard life as a child growing up back then, but I also believe she was able to be a part of a time we can never get back.  A time before electronics and social activities became such an important part of our lives.

Things may have been more difficult, and most of us from today’s world could never survive how they lived.  But, they lived in a simpler time that we could all do well to go back to.  A time when family and neighbors helped each other, and no one needed to have more or better than each other.

Do you think you could survive as a settler as Laura Ingalls family did?  Are you a fan of the Little House on the Prairie books and TV show?

Let me know if you’ve been one of the lucky ones to see some of the Laura Ingalls museums and sites - I would love to hear about them!

PS - If my mom or anyone who might be wanting to get an idea for birthday or Christmas gifts is reading…the Little House on the Prairies TV series is available on Amazon…hint, hint…

Find Kay P. Dawson…

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Kay P. Dawson’s first mail order bride series, Wilder West, is available on Amazon.  Her new series, Oregon Sky, features the Wallace family who have settled in the Willamette Valley.  The first three books in the series are available now!

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Wagons of the West

Have you ever wondered about the various conveyances the pioneers used?  I admit, for the longest time, I never gave it much thought and lumped them all together. But just as we have many makes and models of vehicles today that serve a variety of purposes and functions, so did the wagons of the nineteenth century.  Here is a small sampling of the most popular vehicles, and what made them unique. 

Conestoga- Perhaps one of the most recognizable wagons, these wagons had a large capacity, able to carry up to five tons of cargo. Their bowed construction helped to keep the goods toward the center.  Often, people erroneously mistake these for the wagons used by the pioneers, but the reality was, Conestoga wagons were too heavy for such a trip.

Farm Wagon- Simple and practical, these were widely popular and constructed for durability, not style. They were designed to be sturdy and carry heavy loads for daily use. These wagons typically did not have any form of suspension.

Covered Wagons- Often called prairie schooners, these are what many of the pioneers used as they crossed the American wilderness.  Starting with a farm wagon, five to six round metal frames were added and then covered with a heavy canvas such as duck cloth.

Stagecoach- Another icon of the west, the stagecoach transported people, mail, and gold. It had a suspension system in the form of thick leather straps that absorbed the shock of the bouncing.

Buckboard- These were similar in function to a farm wagon, but crafted differently. The name comes from the board at the front used for a footrest and protection against the horse’s hoof in case of bucking. The seats were attached to flexible board slats that ran from the front to rear axles.  Typically, there were two bench seats, with the rear seat having the option to be removed for more cargo space.

Photo copyrights in order: 1-Public Domain 2-dollarphotoclub.com/snehit 3-dollarphotoclub.com/nanjan 4-dollarphotoclub.com/henryksadura 5-dollarphotoclub/pattiguerrero