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Our Catholic Heritage in Texas
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This native son of Kentucky moved to Missouri shortly after his marriage to Sarah Sealey, of western Virginia, and settled in St. Louis County. Later he seems to have gone to Ralls County, where he served for a while as sheriff.' 5 It is not known how he became interested in colonization. Probably the widespread discussion aroused by the Florida Treaty of 1819 called his attention to Texas. At any rate, DeWitt was in Mexico City by 1822. He remained in the Capital with Haden Edwards, Leftwitch and others, who less successful than Austin, never- theless contributed to the early passage of a federal law on colonization. He then repaired to Saltillo early in 1825 to secure a contract from the State of Coahuila and Texas. His petition for a contract to settle 400 families southwest of Austin's colony was granted on April 15, 1825, partly through the influence of Austin, who had asked Bastrop to intercede in his behalf. So confi- dent of success was DeWitt that even before the grant was made he had appointed as his surveyor General James Kerr, a Missouri senator friend of his. On Kerr's Creek, some two and a half miles east of the junction of the San Marcos and the Guadalupe, cabins were erected in August, 1825, in anticipation of the arrival of settlers. Plans were drawn for the capital of the colony, which Kerr decided to call Gonzalez in honor of Rafael Gonzalez, provisional governor of Coahuila and Texas. Kerr and his companions were soon joined by the family of Francis Berry, who became the first settlers west of the Colorado. Their nearest neighbors were the Mexican colonists of Martin de Leon-fifty miles to the southwest, and of San Antonio, seventy-eight miles to the west." The exposed position of the DeWitt colony made it an easy mark for Indian attack. While most of the settlers were attending a Fourth of July celebration in 1825 on the Colorado, a party of Indians-some say Wacos, others say Comanches-destroyed the young establishment. The survivors fled to the Colorado. But DeWitt, after obtaining his grant, had established another settle- ment some six miles above the mouth of the Lavaca, long known as "Old Station." Among other advantages, it was accessible by water. This location was not only outside the limits of the grant made to him, but also within the restricted ten-league zone along the Gulf Coast. When DeWitt asked to make the settlement permanent by extending his grant to include the entire valley of the Lavaca River, the Political 4SBroWD, Histor,y of Te:r:as, I, 341. "Ethel Zivley Rather, "DeWitt's Colony," Tk6 Quarterl,y, VII, 100-103. This splendid study remains the best account of DeWitt's colony.
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