James Elijah Brown Austin (October 3, 1803 – August 14, 1829) was an American settler and brother of

empresario An empresario () was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of Coahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century. Since ''empresarios'' attract ...

Stephen F. Austin, "The Father of Texas." Counted also as one of

the Old Three Hundred The "Old Three Hundred" were 297 grantees who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin in Mexican Texas. Each grantee was head of a household, or, in some cases, a partnership of unmarried men. Austin was an American approved in ...

, he is listed in Spanish and Mexican records as "Santiago E.B. Austin". James and Stephen F. Austin are both brothers of Emily Margaret Brown Austin. Born in Missouri, James attended high school in

Washington, Connecticut Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the North Eastern region of the United States. The population was 3,646 at the 2020 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active ...

before joining Stephen in Texas in December, 1821. Three years later, having established residence, he was granted title to three leagues west of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

, including Eagle Nest and

Manor lakes Manor Lakes is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Manor Lakes recorded a population of 12,675 in the 2021 census. The subur ...

; a

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

in west

Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan stat ...

; and another labor in

Waller County Waller County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,794. Its county seat is Hempstead. The county was named for Edwin Waller, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and first mayor ...

. He went back to Missouri in May 1824 to bring his mother Maria Brown Austin and sister

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

down to Texas but returned the next year without them. James entered into a partnership with John Austin to participate in the

coasting trade The modern terms short-sea shipping (sometimes unhyphenated), marine highway and motorways of the sea, as well as the more historical terms coastal trade, coastal shipping, coasting trade and coastwise trade, all encompass the movement of cargo and ...

and retail, opening a store together in

Brazoria, Texas Brazoria ( ) is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, and is part of the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,866. Geography Brazoria is located southwest of the center of Brazoria County. The northe ...

. He lobbied in

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

, the capital of

Coahuila and Texas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) for ...

, for the continuance of slavery and succeeded in protecting the ownership of settlers already established. He returned from the capital with 300 Spanish horses. With his brother, he opposed the

Fredonian Rebellion The Fredonian Rebellion or Texan revolt of 1826 (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Texans to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and creat ...

of 1827. James married Eliza Martha Westall March 20, 1828. He named his son Stephen F. Austin Jr. James died on August 14, 1829 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

of yellow fever.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, James E. B. People of Spanish Texas People of Mexican Texas People from Brazoria, Texas People from Missouri 1803 births 1829 deaths Old Three Hundred Deaths from yellow fever