Moses Austin | |
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Born | October 4, 1761 |
Died | June 10, 1821 Missouri Territory, United States | (aged 59)
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Businessman, empresario |
Known for | Being awarded the first land grant to settle Anglo-Americans in Spanish Texas |
Spouse | Mary Brown Austin |
Children | Stephen F. Austin, Emily Austin Perry, James Elijah Brown Austin |
Relatives | Nannie Webb Curtis |
Moses Austin (October 4, 1761 – June 10, 1821) was an American businessman and pioneer who played a large part in the development of the lead industry in the early United States, especially in southwest Virginia and Missouri. He was the father of Stephen F. Austin, one of the earliest American settlers of Texas, which was at the time part of Mexico.[1]
After receiving a land grant from the Spanish Crown in 1820, Moses Austin planned to be the first to establish an American settlement in Spanish Texas, but he died before his dream was realized.[2] On his deathbed, he pleaded with his son to fulfill his dream to colonize Texas.[1] Stephen led the large group of settlers from Missouri who colonized the northern reaches of then-sovereign Mexico in 1825, and in time, the settlers demanded autonomy and later won independence from Mexico under President Antonio López de Santa Anna, thereby establishing the Republic of Texas.[citation needed]