The depositions are probably part of an expediente in relation to Reuben Ross's petition for a land grant. Included are statements by Horatio J. Offutt and Bernardo Amado y Outon.
Subject (Name):
Amado y Outon, Bernardo , Offutt, Horatio J., and Ross, Reuben, d. 1828
Four documents concerning the efforts of Reuben Ross to establish a colony on the Red River in Texas. The first, dated May 11, 1826, is by Juan Antonio Padilla, Secretary of the government of Coahuila and Texas, and advises the President of the Republic to grant a colony to Colonel Reuben Ross and Brigadier General Arthur G. Wavell on the Red River. The second, also by Padilla, is dated August 21, 1826 and certifies that Ross fought on the side of the Republic against the Spanish, citing his actions in the battle of Rosillo. The third is a letter by Juan Cameron to the Governor of Coahuila and Texas, dated August 18, 1828. Cameron notifies the government that Reuben Ross is dead and petitions to assume Ross's grant to establish 200 families on the Colorado next to Wavell's settlement. The fourth, signed by José María Vicaria, Governor of Coahuila and Texas, is dated September 15, 1828 and reserves the decision on Cameron's request.
Description:
Purchased from Peter Decker on the William Robertson Coe Fund for Western Americana, 1968.
Subject (Geographic):
Red River (Tex.-La.) and Texas--Colonization
Subject (Name):
Cameron, John, fl. 1847, Coahuila and Texas (Mexico)--Governor (1826-1827 : Arizpe), Coahuila and Texas (Mexico)--Governor (1827-1830 : Viesca), Padilla, Juan Antonio -1839, Ross, Reuben, d. 1828, and Wavell, Arthur Goodall, 1785-1860
Manuscript copy in Spanish of a 1793 Spanish land grant by Louisiana Governor Francisco Louis Hector Carondelet to Don Joseph Valliere, and signed by Carlos Trudeau, Royal and Private Surveyor of the Province of Louisiana. The grant contains a map showing the location of the land on the White River in the present-day states of Arkansas and Missouri, and is impressed with the seal of the State of Louisiana, certified in English, dated December 7, 1840, and signed by L. Bringier, Surveyor General of Louisiana. The land grant copy is accompanied by an English translation of the grant and copies in an unidentified hand of three letters regarding the property including that of John Wilson to W. A. Bradley, Washington City (October 17, 1841); a letter to Wilson from [Beragency?], New Orleans (undated); and to John Wilson from H. H. Williams, New Orleans (June 19, 1841).
Description:
Joseph Valliere was a Captain in the Spanish Army and served in Louisiana; he died in 1799. and Purchased from Fred A. Rosenstock on the Frederick W. & Carrie S. Beinecke Fund for Western Americana, 1975.
Subject (Name):
Bradley, W. A, Bringier, Louis, Louisiana.--Governor (1791-1797 : Carondelet), Louisiana.--Surveyor General's Office, Trudeau, Charles, Valliere, Joseph,---approximately 1799, Williams, H. H., and Wilson, John,--active 1841
Manuscript, probably a copy, signed twice by Frejes, to Anastasio Bustamante, Captain General of the Provincias Internas. Frejes summarizes events of the last few years in Texas, especially the Indian wars. He criticizes the Spanish government for not doing more to protect the interests of Spanish settlements in Texas and for disregarding missionaries' criticisms of the military and other civil authorities. He recommends making treaties with the indigenous tribes, and encourages further settlements (including additional missions) and establishment of free trade. He speculates on the likelihood of foreign (especially American) incursions into Texas, given the lack of defenses on the coast of Texas, and recommends fortifying the boundary with the United States.
Description:
Bound in a volume titled Documents relating to Texas and Mexico. For a full description of the volume, search by call number: WA MSS S-1614. and Francisco Frejes was a Franciscan missionary and author of several historical works on Mexico.
Subject (Geographic):
Mexico--Government--Administration, Mexico--Politics and government--1821-1861, and Texas--Description and travel
Subject (Name):
Frejes, Francisco,--1784-1845
Subject (Topic):
Indians of North America--Missions--Texas and Indians of North America--Wars--Texas
The diaries describe an 1849 expedition by way of St. Joseph, Fort Kearney, Fort Laramie, South Pass, Sublette's Cut-off, Bear River, Cantonment Loring, Raft River, the Humboldt, Lassen's Route to Deer Creek, and Bruff's camp. They contain maps and sketches from the journey and notes on life in California. The journals were written from the diaries. The notebooks contain more sketches from the trip and of equipment. There are memoranda of supplies and equipment, routes, and remedies.
Subject (Geographic):
California --Description and travel, West (U.S.) --Description and travel, West (U.S.) --Maps, and West (U.S.) --Pictorial works
Subject (Name):
Bruff, Joseph Goldsborough, 1804-1889 and Washington City and California Mining Association
Subject (Topic):
Gold mines and mining --California --History --19th century --Personal narratives, Gold mines and mining --North America --History --19th century, Gold mines and mining --Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.), Gold mines and mining --United States --History, and Gold mines and mining --West (U.S.) --History --19th century