Bound for Texas: People

• Esteban

• Jane Long

• James W. Fannin

• Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

• Cynthia Ann Parker

• William Goyens

Esteban

Esteban is considered to be the first black man known by name to have come to Texas. He was shipwrecked near Galveston Island in 1528 along with his master Andrès Dorantes and two other explorers, Alonso del Castillo and Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca.

The group was captured by Karankawa Indians and taken as prisoners but Esteban had a gift for learning languages quickly. He learned the Karankawan language and served as a translator between the Indians and Spaniards.

Fortunately, the Spaniards' had a knowledge of medicine which enabled them to help heal the sick and become known as medicine men throughout the tribe. The Indians began to respect the Spaniards and allow them to move from village to village. During their travels, Esteban was able to discover trails, villages, and food supplies. He also heard stories about the Seven Cities of Gold, which were Indian pueblos said to be made of gold.

The group spent eight years traveling from the Gulf coast to the Pacific coast of Mexico before arriving in Mexico City. Mexico was under Spanish authority and the group wanted to tell Antonio de Mendoza, the ruler of Mexico City, about the Seven Cities. Mendoza decided to capture the rich cities and bought Esteban from Dorantes. A priest named Marcos de Niza was named head of the expedition and Esteban, because of his knowledge of the land and Indian language, became his guide.

On March 29, 1539, they arrived at Sonora. Niza sent Esteban ahead to explore, but Esteban was killed by the Zuni Indians when he tried to enter their pueblo.

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Jane Long

Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long was born on July 23, 1798 in Maryland. After her father died, she and her mother moved to Mississippi where Jane met her future husband Dr. James Long. Soon after they married James left for an expedition to Texas.

In 1820 Jane joined her husband in Texas at Bolivar Point where James was reorganizing his expedition. After he left, Jane waited at Fort Bolivar for him to return. Initially, soldiers were left behind to protect the fort, but as the winter of 1821 wore on, the men left. Only Jane, her daughter Ann, and a 12-year-old slave named Kian remained.

Supplies began to run out, but Jane refused to leave. She was determined to stay there until her husband returned. To add to her worries, the cannibalistic Karankawa Indians lived nearby. Fearing that the Indians would realize that the fort was defenseless, Kian would wear a soldier's uniform when she left the fort to search for food. Jane and Kian would also fire the fort's cannon every morning and fly a red flag (really a red-flannel petticoat) above the fort. As a result of their resourceful tactics, the Karankawas left Fort Bolivar alone.

Eventually a ship carrying some of the first of Stephen F. Austin's colonists came by Bolivar Point. Jane refused to go with them, but accepted gifts of flour, cornmeal and venison. She continued to wait for her husband's return. In July 1822, Randal and James Jones informed Jane that her husband had died in Mexico.

Jane left Texas, but soon returned with Kian and Ann to live with Austin's colony. Jane and Kian became successful hotel keepers first in Brazoria, then Richmond. Their hotels were centers of political activity with guests like David G. Burnet, Sam Houston, and Mirabeau Lamar. Kian remained a slave all her life, but her grandchildren were free and continued to live in the Richmond area. Jane died in Richmond on December 30, 1880 at the age of 82.

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James W. Fannin

During the Texas Revolution, James W. Fannin was given command of approximately 400 troops, to be stationed at Goliad. On March 19, Fannin and his men surrendered to Mexican General Urrea after the battle of Coleto Creek. They were imprisoned inside their own fort in Goliad. One week later, on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836, Fannin and his men were executed on the order of Santa Anna. The men were split into three groups and marched one mile from the fort, where the Mexican soldiers opened fire on them. Fannin and the other wounded men from the Coleto Creek battle were taken into the courtyard of the fort. Fannin, knowing he was to be executed, asked that he be shot through the chest, be given a Christian burial, and that his watch be sent to his family in the United States. He was immediately shot in the head, his body burned, and the watch was kept by one of the Mexican officers. At the battle of San Jacinto, this same Mexican officer would be captured, still carrying Fannins' watch. He was promptly "chastised" in the same manner as he had killed Fannin.

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Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was elected President of Mexico eleven times during his political and military career. He was also exiled for life three times for his failures on the battlefield and his corrupt policies. However, each time, he was brought back to Mexico as the "hero" that could solve the current problems of the country. His harsh treatment of the men at the Alamo and at Goliad made his name hated in Texas. Defeated by Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, he was made a prisoner of the Texian army until he promised to work towards Texas' independence.

Santa Anna was elected as the President of Mexico in 1832. He soon reversed his support of the 1824 Constitution, favoring instead to follow the policy of the government he had overthrown. Austin traveled to Mexico City to petition Santa Anna to honor his pledges to Texas. Austin was imprisoned for 18 months for writing a letter to the Texas government that suggested the idea that Texans should prepare to take action against the Mexican government.

While Austin was imprisoned, Mexican military forces moved into Texas. Santa Anna had ordered Texas to fall under Martial Law. The Texians feared that the soldados would forcibly collect taxes, arrest political dissenters, and liberate their slaves. Many of the Texians began arming themselves and forming militia units called a "Committee of Safety."

Austin had been a long time supporter of Mexico and was a loyal Mexican citizen; however, upon his release from prison and subsequent return to Texas, he openly favored separating Texas from Coahuila. Still maintaining his loyalty to Mexico, Austin once again proposed separate statehood for Texas, but agreed that force of arms might be necessary to achieve this goal. By the fall of 1835, Texas was bracing itself for the inevitable clash with Mexico. When would it come?

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Cynthia Ann Parker

Cynthia Ann Parker lived with her family in Fort Parker on the Navasota River until an Indian raiding party attacked the fort in 1836. Only nine years old at the time, she was forced to leave her family and join a tribe of Comanche Indians. Although she was beaten and abused at first, she was soon integrated into the tribe and later became the respected wife of Comanche chief Peta Nocona. Cynthia Ann and Peta Nocona had two sons, Quanah and Pecos, and a daughter Topsannah.

Over the years, several people had tried to rescue or ransom Cynthia Ann, but she always told them that she was happily married and did not want to leave her family.

In 1860, Cynthia Ann and Topsannah were captured by U.S. soldiers at the battle of Pease River. She was 34 years old and except for her blue eyes and fair complexion she looked like a typical Comanche woman. Isaac Parker identified Cynthia Ann as his niece and took her to live with him at his home in Birdville.

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William Goyens

William Goyens, a free African American, came to Texas as young man and settled permanently in Nacogdoches. He was an astute businessman and amassed a considerable fortune as a blacksmith, wagon manufacturer, and freight hauler.

He was appointed an Indian agent by the Mexican government of Texas to negotiate with the Cherokees and later acted as an interpreter for Sam Houston who was negotiating a treaty with the Comanches during the Texas Revolution.

After the Revolution, William built a mansion west of Nacogdoches and flourished as a mill owner and land speculator. His success is all the more remarkable because the laws of the Texas republic forbade African Americans from owning property.

William Goyens died on June 20, 1856 at the age of 62.

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