Sterling Clack Robertson (1785–1842) was an

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 ...

from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, during

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 Mexican War of Independence, war against Spain, whi ...

. He introduced 600 families into

Robertson's Colony Robertson's Colony was an empresario colonization effort during the Mexican Texas period. It is named after Sterling C. Robertson, but had previously been known by other names. It has also been referred to as the Nashville Colony, after the Ten ...

. Robertson was also an elected delegate to the

Washington-on-the-Brazos Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independenc ...

convention, signing both the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was form ...

and the

Constitution of the Republic of Texas The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845. On March 2, 1836, Texas declared itself an independent republic because of a lack of support in the United States for the Texas Revolution. The declaratio ...

. He became a senator during the first two sessions of the

Congress of the Republic of Texas : ''For the current Texas legislative body, see Texas Legislature.'' The Congress of the Republic of Texas was the national legislature of the Republic of Texas established by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It was a bicameral ...

Early life in Tennessee

Sterling Clack Robertson was born one of five children on October 2, 1785, into a wealthy and influential slave-holdingSutherland (2006) p. 17 family in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Robertson received a private education from Judge

John McNairy John McNairy (March 30, 1762 – November 12, 1837) was a U.S. federal judge in Tennessee. He was the judge for the Southwest Territory, and for the United States District Court for the District of Tennessee, the United States District Court for ...

by request through Elijah Robertson's will and through his family connections. His father was Captain Elijah Robertson, who left

Brunswick County, Virginia Brunswick County is a United States county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Brunswick County was created in 1720 from parts of Prince George, Surry and Isle of Wight counties. The county was named for the forme ...

, in the 18th century to join family members and other early white settlers in Tennessee. Sterling's mother was Sarah Maclin Robertson. His paternal uncle James Robertson was an explorer known as the Father of Tennessee. His descendants were accomplished persons. Son Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson became a Colonel in the

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 ...

militia, and built a plantation in

Salado, Texas Salado ( ) is a village in Bell County, Texas, United States. Salado was first incorporated in 1867 for the sole purpose of building a bridge across Salado Creek. In 2000, the citizens of Salado voted in favor of reincorporation, before which it ...

. Robertson's great-great-granddaughter was author

Liz Carpenter Mary Elizabeth Sutherland Carpenter (September 1, 1920 – March 20, 2010) was a writer, feminist, reporter, media advisor, speechwriter, political humorist, and public relations expert. As the first woman executive assistant to Vice President ...

, who was a press spokesperson for both President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and later for Ladybird Johnson. Robertson was a gray-eyed, sandy-haired man who stood . He was known to be a hot-tempered ladies man who dressed in expensive tailored clothes. As a youth, Robertson was convicted of manslaughter of one of his cousins in Tennessee, but did not serve his five-month sentence until April 6 to September 1, 1832.

Robertson's colony

Under

, Robertson received an

contract to settle 800 families in Texas.

Texas Rangers and public service

In 1835, empresario Robertson formed his own rangers company to deal with Indian depredations at Robertson's Colony. Robertson was a delegate to the convention at

. He signed both the

and the

. He was also a Senator at the first two sessions of the

Personal life and death

According to his descendants, Robertson never married. However, he sired two sons by two different women. In addition to Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson with Frances King, he also fathered James Maclin Robertson with Rachael Smith. On December 18, 1837,

Senator Robertson got legislation passed that acknowledged both sons as his legitimate issue, and legally entitled to inherit his estate. The legislation was signed into law by Republic President

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 ...

:Sutherland (2006) p. 130 Sterling Clack Robertson died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in Robertson County on March 4, 1842. His remains were removed to Austin and reinterred in the

Texas State Cemetery The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, downtown Austin, Texas, Austin, the Capital (political), capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revo ...

on December 29, 1935.

Notes

References