Robertson's Colony was an empresario colonization effort during the

Mexican Texas Mexican Texas is the historiographical name used to refer to the era of Texan history between 1821 and 1836, when it was part of Mexico. Mexico gained independence in 1821 after winning its war against Spain, which began in 1810. Initially, ...

period. It is named after

Sterling C. Robertson Sterling Clack Robertson (1785–1842) was an empresario from Tennessee, during Mexican Texas. He introduced 600 families into Robertson's Colony. Robertson was also an elected delegate to the Washington-on-the-Brazos convention, signing both the T ...

, but had previously been known by other names. It has also been referred to as the Nashville Colony, after the Tennessee city where the effort originated, the Texas Association, the Upper Colony, and Leftwich's Grant, named after early colonizer Robert Leftwich. The eventual contract spread over an area that includes all or part of thirty present-day counties in Texas.

Counties within Robertson's Colony

Thirty present-day counties were part of the colony. The original 1824 contract secured by Robert Leftwich included all or part of seventeen present-day Texas counties. The 1827 transfer of the contract from Leftwich to the Texas Association added territory that included all or part of an additional thirteen counties. * Bastrop *

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

Bosque A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for ' woodlands'. Setting In the predominantly ...

* Brazos *

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model use ...

* Burleson * Burnet * Callahan * Comanche * Coryell * Eastland * Erath *

Falls Falls may refer to: Places * Waterfalls or rapids * Falls, North Carolina, USA * Falls, West Virginia, USA Other uses * The ropes or wires, fed through davits, that are used to secure and lower a ship's lifeboats. * Falls (surname) * The sepa ...

* Hamilton *

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

* Hood *

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Lampasas Lampasas ( ) is a city in Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census. It is the seat of Lampasas County. Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area. Histor ...

* Lee *

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

* McLennan * Milam *

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Un ...

* Palo Pinto *

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado *Parker, Florida *Parker, Idaho *Parker, Kansas *Parker, Missouri *Parker, North Carolina *Parker, Pe ...

* Robertson * Somervell * Stephens * Williamson

Colonization laws

*January 4, 1823, the Imperial Colonization Law under Emperor

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín de Iturbide (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), full name Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu and also known as Agustín of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built ...

. The law established the responsibilities and rewards of the Empresario system of recruiting the settlers, the apportionment of land, required adherence to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, citizenship requirements, and the authority structure within the settlements. Iturbide abdicated March 19, 1823, nullifying the new law. *August 14, 1824, the

General Colonization Law The Colonization Law of August 18, 1824 was a Mexican statute allowing foreigners to immigrate to the country. Background Under Spanish rule, New Spain was populated almost solely with native peoples or Spanish settlers. Foreign immigration was fo ...

, opened settlement by non-Mexicans, and guarantee basic rights therein. *March 25, 1825, the State Colonization Law of

Coahuila y Tejas 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) fo ...

, established colonization requirements of Texas, while deferring to Mexican federal law. *The

Law of April 6, 1830 The Law of April 6, 1830 was issued because of the Mier y Terán Report to counter concerns that Mexican Texas, part of the border state of Coahuila y Tejas was in danger of being annexed by the United States. Immigration of United States citizens h ...

was passed to stem the tide of Anglo immigration, hoping to prevent Texas being annexed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Article Eleven of the law specifically addresses: "citizens of foreign countries lying adjacent to Mexican territory are prohibited from settling as colonists in the states or territories of the republic adjoining such countries. Those contracts of colonization, the terms of which are opposed to the present article, and which are not yet complied with, shall consequently be suspended."

The Texas Association

On March 2, 1822, a group of seventy individuals known as the Texas Association met in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

to draft a letter to the Mexican government, petitioning for colonization. This group included Dr.

Felix Robertson Felix Robertson (1781–1865) was an American pioneer, physician and Jeffersonian Republican politician. He served twice as the List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee, Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1818 to 1819 as well as from 1827 to 1829 ...

, president of the association,

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important 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 i ...

, Ira Ingram, Robert Leftwich, Andrew Erwin and

. The association advanced Leftwich and Erwin a total of $4,000 to be used for expenses in presenting the petition to the Mexican government.Barker (1969) p.287 After escorting Leftwich to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

, Erwin returned to Tennessee. Leftwich stayed in Mexico City to pursue the colonization effort.Sutherland (2006) p.41

The Leftwich grant

In the two-year wait in Mexico City before the passage of its General Colonization Law, Leftwich had depleted the monies advanced to him by the Texas Association. On October 20, 1824, Leftwich used his personal funds and petitioned the government in his own name, for settlement of 800 families. His petition to settle the families along 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 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

was granted on April 15, 1825. The present-day Texas counties covered by this original Leftwich grant were Bastrop, Bell, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet, Comanche, Coryell, Falls, Hamilton, Lampasas, Lee, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Robertson, and Williamson. In exchange for an additional $14,000 (equivalent in 2015 to approximately $295,000) Leftwich sold the colonization contract to the Texas Association on August 8, 1825. The deal retained Leftwich as the empresario agent between the association and the Mexican government. Dr. Felix Robertson and a group of advance men made an exploratory trip to Texas to lay the groundwork for the colonization. Leftwich dropped out of the colonization effort due to health issues.

Nashville company

On March 8, 1827, the Texas Association petitioned the government to transfer the colonization contract to the association, and recognize Hosea H. League as their representative. In 1826, League had joined the colonization efforts of Stephen F. Austin. In January 1827, League led settlers to join the

Green DeWitt Green DeWitt (February 12, 1787 – May 18, 1835) was an empresario in Mexican Texas. He brought families from the United States to what is now South-central Texas and founded the DeWitt Colony. Missouri Green Dewitt was elected as the first R ...

group. In April of the same year, he led settlers to join Austin's colony. League empowered Austin to act on his behalf in regards to the association's petition. In the paperwork, Austin referred to the association as "the company from Nashville". On October 15, the government granted Austin's petition on behalf of the Nashville Company. It extended the boundary to include the present-day Texas counties of Bosque, Brown, Callahan, Eastland, Erath, Hill, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, and Stephens. This brought the total to all or part of 30 present-day Texas counties.

Upper colony

In 1830,

of the Texas Association, along with Alexander Thomson, Jr. began recruiting settlers for the Texas colonization. The new Law of April 6, 1830, however, nullified the colonization contract with the Texas Association. Stephen F. Austin was able to get an exemption for his colony and that of Green DeWitt. Robertson asked for Austin's assistance in getting an exemption for the association's colonization efforts. Although Austin initially agreed to help Robertson, he and his secretary Samuel May Williams applied for a colonization grant of the same area in their own names. Their justification in the petition was that Robertson had not begun colonization. Austin's petition was granted on February 5, 1831. Under the new contract, the area was referred to as the Upper Colony of the Austin contract. By 1834, Austin and Williams had also failed to colonize the area.

Robertson's colony

Coahuila y Tejas governor Agustín Viesca cancelled the Austin-Williams contract on May 22, 1834, and granted a new contract to Sterling C. Robertson, to complete the contract of 800 families before April 29, 1838. The legal description being: The contract set Robertson's payment as empresario to be five leagues and five labors, , of premium lands for every 100 families introduced into the colony. The colony was established in Falls County, with the capital named Sarahville de Viesca after Robertson's mother Sarah Maclin Robertson, and Governor Viesca. It was located near present-day

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to der ...

. Robertson's son

Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson (1820–1879) was an early white settler in Robertson's Colony in Texas. His father was the colony's founder Sterling C. Robertson. Brought to Texas to learn the Spanish language, he translated for both Robertson' ...

worked translating deeds into the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

for the colony, and received in Milam County for his services. Due to the outbreak of the Texas Revolution, the provisional government of Texas shut down all colonial Land Offices on November 1835. Robertson succeed in introducing 600 families to the colony before 1838. He filed a lawsuit in

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

District Court in November 1837, to receive his payment of premium lands for the families he did introduce. In 1841, the District Court found in his favor. In December 1847, the

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of ...

discounted 221 of those families. Even though the families were introduced to the colony within the time frame of Robertson's contract, the Texas Supreme Court cited that the discounted 221 families were introduced after the 1835 closing of the Land Offices.

Notes

References

* * * {{Mexican Texas Mexican Texas Colonial United States (Mexican) Settlement schemes