Texana Thursday: 5 Things You Might Not Know about Stephen F. Austin

Stephen Fuller Austin (1793-1836) earned his place in the history books by leading Anglo-American colonization efforts in Texas. There’s no telling what he would have done had he not suffered an untimely death, at age 43, only months after Texas became an independent republic.

Here are some five things you might not know about Austin.

1. While lots of pictures of Austin exist, he himself sat for only one portrait.

In an era before photography, images of people and scenes were captured through paintings. The only portrait for which Austin sat was made in 1836. The artist’s name has been lost to history.

The portrait is on display behind the lieutenant governor’s rostrum in the Senate chamber of the state Capitol in Austin.

All portraits and other pictures of him are based in one way or another from this painting.

2. Austin had an interesting career before he began his Texas activities.

Many Texans know that it was Moses Austin, Stephen’s father, who first worked on settling Anglo-American families in Texas, which at the time was part of Mexico. Stephen joined his father’s efforts, and took over when Moses died in 1821.

Austin had an interesting life and career before joining his father’s cause. Up to that point he had, among other things, managed a lead business, managed a general store, and served as an adjutant for a militia battalion. He served in the Missouri territorial legislature and helped start the Bank of St. Louis. He was also a land speculator, and served as a circuit judge in the first judicial district in Arkansas in 1820, though he didn’t hold that position for very long.

3. Sam Houston called Austin the “Father of Texas.”

When Texas became an independent republic in the spring of 1836, it needed to elect its leaders. Austin was one of several candidates for the presidency. He lost to Sam Houston, the hero of the Battle of San Jacinto.

Austin became secretary of state in Houston’s administration, but he only served a couple of months before his death on December 27, 1836.

Houston, in announcing Austin’s death, said, “The Father of Texas is no more.”

4. Austin was originally buried in Southeast Texas.

Austin died in West Columbia, which sits about 55 miles southwest of Houston. He was buried in Gulf Prairie Cemetery in Jones Creek, which is to the southeast of West Columbia.

In October 1910, his remains were unearthed and relocated to the new Texas State Cemetery in Austin, where they rest today.

Austin’s Gulf Prairie Cemetery gravesite still has the original gravestone, and a plaque announcing the relocation.

5. The most famous statue of Austin is in Austin (and Washington). The biggest statue is in Angleton.

Austin is commemorated in a statue executed by the artist Elisabet Ney. One is on display at the state Capitol in Austin. A replica is on display in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.

The artist David Adickes created a 72-foot statue of Austin, near Angleton, which is south of Houston. Adickes also created the large Sam Houston statue just south of Huntsville.