texas – Page 113 – Texas History Notebook

John Coffee Hays, Texas Ranger

Ranger John Coffee “Jack” Hays was born in Little Cedar Lick, Wilson County, Tennessee, January 28, 1817. In “Texas Rising,” he seems to be a somewhat less important character, likely because most of his service as a Texas Ranger occurred after the Texas Revolution. Hays was related to Andrew Jackson’s family in that Mrs. Jackson was his great aunt. His father fought with Andrew Jackson and gave Jack his middle name Coffee in honor of Gen. John Coffee who had also served under Jackson.

When Hays was still a young man, he left Tennessee and moved to Mississippi where he learned surveying. Some accounts have him coming to Texas in 1836, early enough to serve under Erastus “Deaf” Smith and Henry W. Karnes while others maintain that he arrived in late 1837 or early 1838. Regardless, he had settled in San Antonio by February, 1840 and apparently “rangered” while he also served as a surveyor. He fought in the Battle of Plumb Creek and in 1840 he became Captain of a company of Rangers under Mirabeau B. Lamar, during the interim years after the Texas Revolution but before the Mexican-American War. In addition to Plum Creek, he was also involved in action at Cañon de Ugalde, Bandera Pass and Painted Rock.

Presidents, Republic of Texas, Part 1

The list below shows the presidents and vice presidents of the Republic of Texas during its existence.

President	Vice President
David G. Burnet (Interim) Mar. 16, 1836 – Oct. 22, 1836	Lorenzo de Zavala Mar. 16, 1836 – Oct. 17, 1836
Sam Houston Oct. 22, 1836 – Dec. 10, 1838	Mirabeau B. Lamar Oct. 22, 1836 – Dec. 10, 1838
Mirabeau B. Lamar Dec. 10, 1838 – Dec. 13, 1841	David G. Burnet Dec. 10, 1838 – Dec. 13, 1841
Sam Houston Dec. 13, 1841 – Dec. 9, 1844	Edward Burleson Dec. 13, 1841 – Dec. 9, 1844
Anson Jones Dec. 9, 1844 – Feb. 19, 1846	Kenneth Anderson Dec. 9, 1844 – July 3, 1845

Source: Texas State Library and Archives Commission

The Republic began with the Treaties of Velasco in May 1836 and ended with the annexation of Texas, orchestrated by Anson Jones. Capitals of the Republic included Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco, Columbia, Houston and Austin. Some of these names are no longer familiar to us. Harrisburg became part of Houston; Velasco became part of Freeport.

The various presidents differed widely in their idealogy and vision for the future of Texas. We don’t intend to editorialize about what they believed, just to discuss them as individuals. Their personal views helped to shape the direction that the Republic took during its existence.

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Erastus “Deaf” Smith

Erastus “Deaf” (pronounced “Deef”) Smith was an admirable person in “Texas Rising” and one in which the character of the individual may closely match the one portrayed in the miniseries. His hearing loss was not complete, but was significant after suffering an illness some years prior to the Texas Revolution. In some accounts, it was referred to as “consumption” (most likely, tuberculosis) which may have contributed to his death, though contemporary accounts were not specific as to the actual cause of death. One newspaper account simply read, “His iron frame has sunk under the severe fatigues and exposures to which he has too willingly subjected himself.”

Continue reading Erastus “Deaf” Smith

Emily D. West

She is the traditional subject of the song “Yellow Rose of Texas” and one of the more compelling characters in the miniseries “Texas Rising” which just completed its debut run on the History Channel. In it, the character has an affair with Mexican General Santa Anna and is occupying his attention leading up to the battle. In addition, she may have had personal motives of revenge that led to her desire to see Santa Anna defeated.

The familiar song does not deal with San Jacinto or Santa Anna. It was composed in the 1800s, although the actual name of the composer is unknown.

Continue reading Emily D. West

“Texas Rising”

I hope you had a chance to watch “Texas Rising” on the History Channel over the last month and a half. It was entertaining. I know that some characters in the series were fictional or their stories were highly fictionalized, so this summer I will try to find the real stories of their lives, starting with Emily D. West, Jack Hays and Erastus (Deaf) Smith. I was also intrigued by Juan Seguin and the other Hispanic residents of Texas who fought with Houston against the Mexican Army. These were my takeaways from “Texas Rising.” I am grateful to the History Channel for the project, but the armchair historian in me always appreciates the real stories behind the fictional ones.