Enjoy these Texas history excerpts from the Texas State Historical Association.
https://www.tshaonline.org/home
12/31/1792: Official Spanish census records 448 Texas residents of African descent
On this day in 1792, an official Spanish census for Texas recorded 247 males and 167 females as “mulatto,” i.e., multiracial with African ancestry, and 15 males and 19 females as Black in Texas’s total population of 1,617 males and 1,375 females. Thus, Texas residents who were of African descent constituted 15 percent of the total population. Spanish law required free Black residents to pay tribute, forbade them to carry firearms, and restricted their freedom of movement. In practice Spanish officials ignored such restrictions. After the Mexican War of Independence (1821), the Mexican government offered free Black residents full rights of citizenship. Still numerous free Black Texans fought for Texas independence–some feared Anglo retribution if they did not serve, and others shared views with Anglos about the Mexican government. However, the Congress of the Republic of Texas and, following annexation, the state legislature passed a series of increasingly repressive laws governing the lives of free Black residents. The increased restrictions and the rise in White hostility resulted in a virtual halt to additional free Black immigration to Texas. The United States census reported 397 free Black residents in Texas in 1850 and 355 in 1860.
1/1/1863: Confederates attack Union forces in Galveston
On this day in 1863, Confederate forces under Gen. J. B. Magruder began their assault on Union forces that had held Galveston since October. Magruder placed artillery and dismounted cavalry aboard two river steamers, the Bayou City and the Neptune. He also gathered infantry and cavalry, supported by artillery, to cross the railroad bridge onto the island. The Confederates entered Galveston on New Year’s night, January 1, 1863, and opened fire before dawn. The Union ship Harriet Lane sank the Neptune, but the Bayou City’s crew seized the Federal vessel. Union commander William B. Renshaw’s flagship, the Westfield, ran aground, and the commander died trying to blow it up rather than surrender it. The other Union ships sailed out to sea, ignoring Confederate surrender demands, while their infantry comrades in town surrendered. Magruder had retaken Galveston with a moderate loss. Although the port remained under Confederate control for the rest of the war, only a week elapsed before it was again blockaded.
1/1/1925: Texas governor shocks nation, appoints all-woman court
On this day in 1925, Governor Pat M. Neff appointed an all-woman state Supreme Court, the first in Texas and probably in the nation. The case before the court involved the Woodmen of the World. All three justices belonged to this organization and were consequently disqualified. Since most of the other judges in Texas were also Woodmen, Neff decided to choose female lawyers, who were ineligible for lodge membership. Nellie Robertson was named special chief justice, and Edith Wilmans and Hortense Ward served as special associate justices. Due to experience requirements, Ward became special chief justice and Ruth V. Brazzil and Hattie L. Henenberg filled the associate justice positions. The special court first met on January 8, 1925. Women did not serve on juries in the state until 1954.
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