Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long (July 23, 1798 – December 30, 1880) was a

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

pioneer. She owned boarding houses and a plantation in Texas. She is best known as the "Mother of Texas."

Biography

Early life

Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long was born on July 23, 1798, in

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. T ...

. She was a niece of General

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American army officer and politician who was associated with multiple scandals and controversies during his life, including the Burr conspiracy. He served in the Continental Army du ...

; her father was James' eldest brother, William Mackall Wilkinson (c.1751–1799). About 1811, her family moved from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

to the small town of

Washington, Mississippi Washington is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Adams County, Mississippi, Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Located along the lower Mississippi River, Mississippi, east of Natchez, Mississippi, Natchez, it was the sec ...

, the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...

Adult life

She moved to Texas with her husband in the 1820s. In 1822, her husband died after being captured by Spanish/Mexican forces and she became a widow. Stephen F. Austin gave Jane grants of land in Fort Bend and Waller counties; but instead of

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, she opened a

boarding house A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodging, lodgers renting, rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and ...

San Felipe, Texas San Felipe ( ), also known as San Felipe de Austin, is a town in Austin County, Texas, United States. The town was the social, economic, and political center of the early Stephen F. Austin colony. The population was 691 at the 2020 census. Hist ...

. She sold part of her land in Fort Bend County, on which the town of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

was built. She later moved to Richmond, where she opened a boarding house and started a plantation nearby.

Personal life

Jane was married in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1815 to James Long, a doctor and a native of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He had led a

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

expedition attempting to take control of

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created ...

in 1819, and in a second attempt in April 1820 he brought his pregnant wife and 300 troops to join refugees from the first expedition on the

Bolivar Peninsula Bolivar Peninsula ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,769 at the 2020 census. The communities of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island are located o ...

near present-day

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. Forced to surrender along with his troops at

Presidio La Bahía The Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as Presidio La Bahía, or simply La Bahía, is a fort constructed by the Spanish Army. It became the center of a community that developed into what is now the city of Gol ...

in October 1821, he was killed by a guard on April 8, 1822, during imprisonment in Mexico City. Meanwhile, left behind at Bolivar Point (now

Port Bolivar Port Bolivar ( ) is an unincorporated community located on the northern shore of the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, separated from Galveston Island by the entrance to Galveston Bay. The Bolivar Peninsula itself is a census-designated pl ...

), Jane gave birth on December 21, 1821, to her third child, Mary James Long, with her only slave, Kian, helping. Throughout a long winter, they and her children struggled as she waited for her husband's return. At one point, several

Karankawa The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by Joh ...

Indians appeared, but she fired a cannon each day to make them think there was an army stationed there. Together Jane and Kian fought starvation for weeks, hunting their own game, fishing and gathering oysters, until the news of her husband's death finally reached her during the spring, whereupon they headed out. She then left Texas but returned in the later 1820s as a bona fide

colonist A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

. Jane Long claimed to be the first woman of English descent to settle in Texas, and her daughter Mary is often said to be the first child born in Texas to an English-speaking woman, but this has been disproved by census records from 1807 to 1826 which show a number of Anglo-American births. Nevertheless because of this, she became known as the "Mother of Texas."

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

later gave the same title to Margaret Theresa Wright during a gubernatorial speech on August 1, 1857, in Wright's hometown of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

for Wright's heroic support of Texas troops during the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

. Her sister, Barbara Mackall Wilkinson, married Alexander Calvit, a sugar planter.Mary Austin Holley, ''Mary Austin Holley: The Texas Diary, 1835-1838'', Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1965, p. 11

/ref>

Death

She died on December 30, 1880, in

Fort Bend County, Texas Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded on December 29, 1837, and organized the next year. It is named for Fort Bend, a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around th ...

Legacy

A number of schools within Texas have been named after the "Mother of Texas." Among them are the following: *Jane Long Elementary School located in

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

in the

Brazosport Independent School District Brazosport Independent School District is a school district based in Clute, Texas, Clute, Texas (United States, USA) in Greater Houston. The district serves the cities, towns, and villages of Clute, Freeport, Texas, Freeport, Jones Creek, Texas ...

*Jane Long Elementary School located in

, in the

Lamar Consolidated Independent School District Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, also Lamar Consolidated ISD, Lamar CISD or LCISD, is a public school district in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Metropolitan Area. Lamar CISD includes al ...

*Jane Long Intermediate School located in

Bryan Bryan may refer to: Places in the United States * Bryan, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Ohio, a city * Bryan, Texas, a city * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town * Bryan County, Georgia * ...

, in the

Bryan Independent School District Bryan Independent School District is a public school district based in Bryan, Texas (USA). It also serves rural areas in northern Brazos County, and a small portion of Robertson County. Within Brazos County it includes Bryan, Kurten, Lake ...

* Jane Long Middle School located in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

*Long Early Learning Center located in Abilene, in the

Abilene Independent School District Abilene Independent School District is a public school district based in Abilene, Texas (USA). The district serves the cities of Abilene and Impact in northeastern Taylor County, as well as most of the portion of Abilene that lies in southe ...

*A marker in Fort Bend County, Texas was erected in her honor in 1936. *Jane W Long Elementary located in Harlingen, in the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District *Jane Long Elementary School located in

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...

, in the Midland Independent School District

References

External links

Jane Long historic materials from the Fort Bend Museum
hosted by the Portal to Texas History *
Jane Long and Kian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Jane Herbert Wilkinson 1798 births 1880 deaths People from Charles County, Maryland People from Richmond, Texas People of Mexican Texas People from Houston Old Three Hundred People from Washington, Mississippi