Ludovic Colquhoun (1804–1882) also known as Ludwig Colquhoun, was a

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

Senator and a merchant of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Early life

Ludovic Colquhoun was born in 1804 in Cumberland, Dumbartonshire, Scotland. He first immigrated to New Orleans, Louisiana, then moved to Texas in 1837, where he ventured in real estate and as a merchant. In Texas he gained vast land holdings, so much so, that it was necessary to hire a manager to assist him.

Texas Senator

He was appointed as a Senator of the Texas Republic from the District of Bexar in 1842. His term was cut short when San Antonio was taken by surprise by the Mexican Army in September of that year. At the time, Colquhoun was involved in a dispute with

Samuel Maverick Samuel Augustus Maverick (July 23, 1803 – September 2, 1870) was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. His name is the source of the term "maverick", first attested in 1867. He was the grand ...

over ownership of land on the Cibolo Creek. The case was being tried in San Antonio, when the Mexican Army appeared there on the 11th.

POW

Due to the critical situation, Colquhoun became a soldier in Captain Chauncey Johnson's resistance forces in San Antonio. A battle began but the Texans were badly outnumbered and overwhelmed. Many were taken prisoner during this invasion of the

Adrian Woll Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...

during September, 1842.Moore (2010), p. 56. Colquhoun was among the members of this group. He was marched to Mexico and imprisoned at Perote Prison from 1842 to 1844. While in prison, being knowledgeable of the lands from his vast dealings and work as a surveyor, he fashioned several maps to aid in the escape of Thomas Jefferson Green and several other of the imprisoned Texans. Colquhoun was eventually released by request of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

through intervention by diplomat Waddy Thompson.

Later years

By 1850, he had reestablished himself as a merchant and citizen of San Antonio. During the 1860s, when the American Civil War broke out, he was appointed an official Confederate States Depositary. He was married to an English-born wife, Frances. While married to Frances, he fathered seven children with Aurelia Wilson (b. 10 Dec. 1836, Charleston, S.C. – d. 29 Mar. 1923, San Antonio, TX) an African American woman who was born into slavery and moved from South Carolina to Texas as an enslaved woman. Colquhoun and Wilson's children were named Fannie (Wilson) Holley (b. 1864), Dora Wilson (b. c 1865), Henry (b. c 1865), Kate Wilson (1876), Ella (Wilson) Robinson (1877), Rosa (Wilson) Sales (1878), and Minnie (Wilson) Plummer (1879). Ludovic Colquhoun has many living African American descendants. The Bella Cameron School in San Antonio is named after Wilson and Colquhoun's granddaughter (one of Fannie's daughters), Bella (Holley) Cameron (b. 23 Oct. 1903 – d. 7 Sep. 1966), who was a beloved African American educational leader in San Antonio. Although he was a Texas senator and wealthy San Antonio merchant and real estate holder, Aurelia and her seven children, who were fathered by Ludovic Colquhoun, did not inherit anything when he died and have not been recognized in the historical record. He died December 4, 1882, and was buried at City Cemetery Number 1, in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

.The Political Graveyard
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Notes

External links

* Thomas W. Cutrer, "COLQUHOUN, LUDOVIC," Handbook of Texas Onlin

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colquhoun, Ludovic 1804 births 1882 deaths British emigrants Politicians from San Antonio Republic of Texas senators