Texas History Notebook

Governor Oran Milo Roberts

Governor Oran Milo Roberts was the seventeenth governor of Texas, serving from January 21, 1879 to January 16, 1883, succeeding Richard B. Hubbard and preceding John Ireland. He was the last of at least six children born in Laurens County, South Carolina on July 9, 1815 to Obadiah Roberts (1769-1827) and Margaret Ewing Roberts (1776-1859). Biographical sketches say that he was educated at home until he was seventeen. One anecdote has him telling his mother around that time that although he had respect for the agricultural life they were living, he had higher aspirations than working on the land. Then, using funds borrowed from a brother in law, in 1832 he left home to enter the University of Alabama, graduating in four years with a law degree.

Battle of Gonzales

The Battle of Gonzales began on October 2, 1835 after some preliminary events. Back in 1831, Mexican authorities had loaned a small cannon to settlers in and around Gonzales to assist them in defending against Comanche incursions. Relationships between settlers and the Mexican government improved and declined over time, though trending toward animosity between them. At some point, the commander of Mexican troops in Texas favored seeking a return of the cannon, possibly to prevent it being used against them.

Sid Richardson

Sid Williams Richardson was born on April 25, 1891 to John Isidore Richardson (1856-1911) and Nancy Bradley Richardson (1860-1934) in Athens, Texas. His father was born and died in East Texas. His mother was born in Mississippi, survived his father by about 23 years and died in Wichita Falls.

Anahuac Disturbances

Anahuac, Texas is located a little less than an hour’s drive due east of downtown Houston. Early inhabitants are said to have included Native tribes such as the Caddo and Atakapan followed by European explorers. There were other European settlers living there by 1824 after which Mexican dictator Santa Anna overthrew the constitutional government of Mexico, leading to rising tensions in the area. The conflict and tension in Mexico between those who favored either the federalist or the centralist form of government was an undercurrent of the Texas Revolution and a complication for the Mexican government while trying to hold on to Texas.

Coronado (Francisco Vázquez de Coronado)

In 1936, as Texans were nearing the 100th anniversary of the winning of its independence from Mexico, the anniversary of a much older event was also approaching, namely the 400th anniversary of the expedition of Coronado. The Texas Centennial took place in 1936 and this so called quad-centennial or quatro-centennial concerns the events that occurred three hundred years before the Texas Revolution and a full eighty years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.