300

William Barret Travis

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:20,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD
William Barret Travis

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Auction Date:2016 May 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Rare manuscript DS in Spanish, signed “W. Barret Travis,” one page both sides, 8.5 x 12.5, February 6, 1834. In part (translated): “In the village of San Felipe de Austin…before me the Citizen Roberto M. Williamson, Constitutional Mayor of this village and its jurisdiction, and the witnesses at the end…The person present, the Citizen Samuel M. Williams…is given and confirmed with all his powers and of his companion in substitution for Citizen Estefan F. Austin, to the Citizen Thomas McQueen, neighbor of this village…so that it can be presented before the supreme government of the state or before the honorable congress of the same…for convenience in necessity and defense of the rights…in the contract that is being celebrated with the supreme government of this state in February of the year 1831 for the introduction and establishment of 800 Mexican and Foreign families in Texas.” Signed at the conclusion by Robert McAlpin Williamson, William Barrett Travis, Samuel M. Williams, and J. H. Kuykendall. In very good condition, with some staining (primarily to the left side), just impinging on the beginning of Travis’s signature.

This concerns a dispute over Texas lands that had been transferred to Stephen F. Austin and Samuel M. Williams via the 1831 agreement mentioned, which involved settling 800 families. Sterling Clark Robertson had been given the contract years earlier and claimed the land rights were still his. With this document, Austin—who was imprisoned for suspected revolutionary activities—and Williams grant power of attorney Thomas W. McQueen, who was supposed present the case at the seat of government in Monclova later that month. While on the way, McQueen was ambushed by Tawakoni Indians and suffered a fatal wound; Travis, representing Robertson, easily won the case.

In the broad context of the Texas Revolution, this document takes on an even greater importance. It marks two important points in Travis’s life—he had finally become known as a capable lawyer after early struggles, and his political career was taking off as he was named secretary of the Ayuntamiento on the very day of this document. Perhaps most interesting is its direct connection to a key point of political contention—the immigration of Americans into Mexico, which infuriated Santa Anna and served as the kindling that would ignite the Texas Revolution. Additionally, the document is signed by R. M. Williamson, an early revolutionary agitator who helped organize the relief forces that responded to Travis's plea for aid during the siege of the Alamo—when they did not get there in time, Travis was killed during his valiant defense. As a significant historical document connecting a number of Texas heroes, this is an unmistakably remarkable piece.