The Alamo Messenger
July 2014

In This Issue
A Primary Account
A Texas Fourth of July

Even before Texas became part of the United States, some of its citizens celebrated the Fourth of July.  In her reminiscences of life in 1830s Texas, Mrs. Dilue Rose Harris remembers the celebration of July 4, 1834 near Stafford's Point, Texas.

Read Mrs. Harris' account
Educator Resource
A Civics Lesson from 1836

Use an excerpt from an 1836 textbook to discuss the political views of early Americans and whether or not they are the same or different from those of Americans today.

Additional Resources
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Greetings and welcome to the July 2014 edition of the Alamo Messenger. The Fourth of July is usually remembered as America's birthday, but the date holds special importance for Texans as on July 4, 1845 delegates met in Austin to begin discussing annexation to the United States.  This edition of the Alamo Messenger is therefore jointly devoted to celebrating America's 238th birthday and remembering the end of the Republic of Texas. 
Featured Article
Texas: From Republic to State

On March 2, 1836, delegates meeting at Washington-on-the-Brazos declared their independence from Mexico: The new nation they formed was the Republic of Texas. Over the next ten years citizens of the republic maintained their independence although faced with problems such as poor finances and the constant threat of war. By 1845, most Texans were ready to trade independence for statehood.  Keep Reading
Artifact of the Month
Dorothy Hancock Dress Fragment
Click on image for closer view

 

There are many items in the Alamo Collection.  Many of them have very little to do with the Alamo site directly.  This dress fragment is one of those items.  It is from the dress worn by Mrs. Dorothy Hancock in Philadelphia in 1776 at her first public reception.  Her husband, Gov. John Hancock was the president of the First Continental Congress and Signer of the Declaration of Independence.  This fragment was given to the donor by his mother who received it from Mrs. Hancock in 1829.  It was passed on to the donor, C. A. Quincy Norton in 1882 by his mother. It is made of a soft, fine, sheer fabric known as "Indian Mull" which was worn over a pink silk gown.  While this item has little to do with Alamo history, it is a very important piece of American History.

 

This article was written by Alamo Assistant Curator Ernesto Rodriguez, III.


Stories of Texas Women
Mary (Smith) Jones: Final First Lady of the Republic

Mary Smith was born July 24, 1819 in Lawrence County, Arkansas to parents John McCutcheon Smith and Sarah (Pevehouse) Smith.  She was one of five children born to the couple.  Following the death of John in 1833, Sarah relocated the family to Brazoria, Texas where she married John Woodruff, a widower with six children of his own.  The blended family resided in Brazoria until they were forced to flee in advance of the Mexican army during the 1836 Texas Revolution.  Keep Reading
Thank you for reading the July 2014 edition of the Alamo Messenger.  We hope you had as much fun reading the articles as we had writing them.  As always, we welcome your feedback on how we can continue to improve our newsletter and provide our subscribers with quality content.

Sincerely,
The Alamo Education Department Staff

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