1836 Texian Loan to Thomas Carneal Signed by Stephen F. Austin, B.T. Archer & Wm. Wharton

➼ History & Context

Texian loans mark a particularly interesting piece of Texas history. In 1836, the newly established Republic of Texas government sent three delegates to the United States to drum up support – and financing – for the independence war effort.

Printed in New Orleans and signed by the Texan dignitaries, the Texian loans were sold to investors for $320 each, about $8,500 today, and paid 8% interest and guaranteed the right to purchase lands in Texas at 50 cents per acre.

Their efforts were successful, and the Texian loans managed to raise over $250,000 to fund the revolution.

➼ Stephen F. Austin

Given the moniker “Father of Texas” for leading a new group of colonists to the tejanos region of the Mexican territories in 1825, Stephen F. Austin was not only one of the most well-known leaders of the Texas Revolution, but served as the first Secretary of State of the newly formed Republic of Texas government in 1836.

Born in Virginia in 1793, Austin moved through a few southern states, even serving on the Missouri territorial legislature for a time, before his father received an “epresario” grant from Spain to “settle” Texas. When his father died in 1821 before realizing his goal, Austin took up the cause and the epresario title from the newly established government of Mexico.

When revolution grew and spread, Austin took up arms alongside his fellows and led the siege of Béxar. He served as a commissioner to the United States to raise funds for the war effort, and even ran in the 1836 Texas presidential election, though he lost to Sam Houston.

Houston appointed him Secretary of State, a post he served until his death only months later, in December 1836. Austin is remembered as a leader of the Texas Revolution, and his name was bestowed on schools and monuments across the state as well as the capitol city.

➼ B.T. Archer

Branch T. Archer was a noted Texan who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Republic of Texas as well as the Secretary of War. During the Texas revolution, Archer was part of the commission to the United States to garner finances and support for the war effort.

As many Texan leaders were, Archer was born in Virginia. A doctor and political leader there, he was part of the Virginia House of Delegates and a US presidential elector in 1820. He married Eloisa Clarke and together they had six children. And on May 13, 1828 Archer killed his cousin, Dr. James Ottway Crump, in a pistol duel.

After arriving in Texas in 1831, Archer set up a Masonic Lodge – later he became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas – and became involved in the politics of his new home, embroiled in the quest for independence from Mexico. Archer represented Brazoria at the Convention of 1833 and after fighting in the Battle of Gonzales he served as Chairman of the Consultation of 1835.

In 1836, Archer went to the US with Stephen F. Austin and William Wharton as commissioners to advocate for the Texan cause, and upon his return joined the newly formed Texas House of Representatives. Later, President Mirabeau B. Lamar appointed Archer as Secretary of War for 1840 through 1841.

➼ William Wharton

Known for introducing the Lone Star flag to the Texas Senate for adoption, William Harris Wharton was a notable figure in the Republic of Texas revolutionary process and remained prominent in the nascent government until his death in 1839. 

A lawyer born in Virginia and educated in Tennessee, Wharton moved to the tejano portion of Mexico and married Sarah Ann Groce, the daughter of a wealthy landowner.

When the Convention of 1832 elected one of their members to take their resolutions to the Mexican state and federal authorities in Saltillo and Mexico City, they sent Wharton – though they were unsuccessful in separating into a new state separate from Coahuila y Tejas. He was the President of the Convention of 1833, and a member of the Consultation of 1835.

When revolution struck, Wharton served as Colonel and judge advocate general, was in the siege of San Antonio de Béxar in 1835, and appointed one of three commissioners to the US to secure money and support for the Texians in 1836.

A senator for the new Republic of Texas, he was appointed minister to the US, and in 1837 was captured by Mexico and imprisoned in Matamoros. Legend has it, he escaped by wearing a nun’s habit. Only two years later, while serving a second term as senator, Wharton accidentally shot and killed himself while dismounting from his horse.