Texas History Notebook

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.

Johnny Horton

John Gale Horton was a country and western singer. He was the son of John Loly Horton (1890-1959) and Ella Claudia Robinson Horton (1892-1966) in Los Angeles, California. He was raised in East Texas. In the 1930 census, Johnny was the youngest of five children (three sons and two daughters) and his father John listed his occupation as farmer, probably a sharecropper. In the census form, Johnny is called “Gayle.” By 1940, the family was living in Cherokee County, Texas, Johnny’s father’s occupation was listed as farmer and by that time, the family consisted of the parents, Johnny’s older sister and himself. His name was spelled “Gale” in this census form.