Issue No. 4
July 16, 2010
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About
Texas Reader is written by Mark Pusateri of
Copano Bay Press (BooksOnTexas.com).
It explores little known facets of Texas history you weren't likely taught in school.
Copano Bay Press (BooksOnTexas.com).
It explores little known facets of Texas history you weren't likely taught in school.
In 1629, King Charles I of England granted to Sir Robert Heath, all the lands in North America between the 30th and 36th parallels from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The province was to be called Carolana (yes, Carolana not Carolina.)
There was one stipulation. The grant covered only those lands, "not being then actually in the possession of any Christian Prince or State."
Sir Robert never did anything with his grant. He was no colonizer and besides, he was too busy being Attorney General. It was just a piece of paper to him, so he sold it. It changed hands several times until 1696 when it was acquired by Dr. Daniel Coxe, a former Royal Physician.
Here was a man ready to do something. He sent out a number of expeditions. His idea was to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi (called the Meschacebe on English maps of the period.)
One of his boats made it a hundred miles up the river when it was met by a stunned Siuer de Bienville, the French governor of the region. Bienville courteously informed the English captain that the river and its valley were already claimed by the King of France. Oh that pesky stipulation!
And that looked like the end of things for the Dr. Coxe and his dream of an American colony.
Nearly three centuries later, in the mid 1980s, the Houston Fire Department wanted to expand a maintenance building near Buffalo Bayou, just outside of downtown.
They uncovered a whole lot of graves dating back to the Civil War era. Not entirely unexpected. People knew that area had been the old City Cemetery. The graves were supposedly moved in the 1920s to make way for progress, but sometimes they just moved the stones.
Dr. Kenneth Brown, archaeologist at the University of Houston, was called in to investigate. What he found amazed him.
Among the 19th century graves he found nearly sixty "black earth burials". That means the body was wrapped in a shroud and buried without a coffin with organic material piled atop to hasten decay. All were buried with the feet to the East.
Only one group of people ever buried their dead in this manner: the English. The City of London in 1563 mandated this form of burial for persons who died of disease. It was supposed to stop the spread of disease which was thought to be caused by fumes arising from the deceased.
Ceramic shards and tobacco pipes found in these graves date from the 1600's and are typical of those used in English colonies of that period. Not only that, there had one time been a ten foot moat surrounding the area, and evidence was found of structures built in the English manner.
There is certainly more research to be done, but the evidence looks pretty clear: there was a seventh flag that flew over Texas.
There was one stipulation. The grant covered only those lands, "not being then actually in the possession of any Christian Prince or State."
Sir Robert never did anything with his grant. He was no colonizer and besides, he was too busy being Attorney General. It was just a piece of paper to him, so he sold it. It changed hands several times until 1696 when it was acquired by Dr. Daniel Coxe, a former Royal Physician.
Here was a man ready to do something. He sent out a number of expeditions. His idea was to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi (called the Meschacebe on English maps of the period.)
One of his boats made it a hundred miles up the river when it was met by a stunned Siuer de Bienville, the French governor of the region. Bienville courteously informed the English captain that the river and its valley were already claimed by the King of France. Oh that pesky stipulation!
And that looked like the end of things for the Dr. Coxe and his dream of an American colony.
Nearly three centuries later, in the mid 1980s, the Houston Fire Department wanted to expand a maintenance building near Buffalo Bayou, just outside of downtown.
They uncovered a whole lot of graves dating back to the Civil War era. Not entirely unexpected. People knew that area had been the old City Cemetery. The graves were supposedly moved in the 1920s to make way for progress, but sometimes they just moved the stones.
Dr. Kenneth Brown, archaeologist at the University of Houston, was called in to investigate. What he found amazed him.
Among the 19th century graves he found nearly sixty "black earth burials". That means the body was wrapped in a shroud and buried without a coffin with organic material piled atop to hasten decay. All were buried with the feet to the East.
Only one group of people ever buried their dead in this manner: the English. The City of London in 1563 mandated this form of burial for persons who died of disease. It was supposed to stop the spread of disease which was thought to be caused by fumes arising from the deceased.
Ceramic shards and tobacco pipes found in these graves date from the 1600's and are typical of those used in English colonies of that period. Not only that, there had one time been a ten foot moat surrounding the area, and evidence was found of structures built in the English manner.
There is certainly more research to be done, but the evidence looks pretty clear: there was a seventh flag that flew over Texas.
True Stories of Old Houston
and Houstonians
Originally published in 1913.
Contains 105 stories of Houston's history.
These are stories of:
Click Here read all about it.
and Houstonians
Originally published in 1913.
Contains 105 stories of Houston's history.
These are stories of:
- Early citizens and their day-to-day lives
- The Civil War and Houston's fighting men
- Slaves and former slaves
- Rigged elections and reconstruction day
- Houston's many saloons and gambling dens
- Local superstitions, ghosts and haunted houses.
- Gentlemen and scoundrels
- Hangings and jail breaks
- Even a little cross dressing
Click Here read all about it.
Trivia Answer:
Isla de Malhado (Isle of Misfortune) was the name given by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca to Texas island where he and eighty other Spaniards, along with an African, were shipwrecked in November 1528. Though many have claimed it was Galveston Island, it is far more likely to have been San Luis Island given the description and distances recorded by Cabeza de Vaca.
Isla de Malhado (Isle of Misfortune) was the name given by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca to Texas island where he and eighty other Spaniards, along with an African, were shipwrecked in November 1528. Though many have claimed it was Galveston Island, it is far more likely to have been San Luis Island given the description and distances recorded by Cabeza de Vaca.
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