The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911 Page: 182

182

Texas Historical Association Quarterly

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN: A MEMORIAL ADDRESSI
ALEX. W. TERRELL
Daughters of the Republic, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Texas, mindful of her debt of gratitude to the great pioneer of
her civilization, has always cherished his memory, and has now
brought here his mortal remains for final interment. More than
half a century ago a single portrait was hung in the hall of the old
House of Representatives to the right of the Speaker's chair. It
was the portrait of Stephen F. Austin, placed there by the men
who once followed him to the wilderness in search of homes, who
had shared with him its perils and who knew him best. When, in
1855, another state house was erected, the same portrait was placed
to the right of the Speaker's chair, and when, in later years, this
more enduring capitol was built, this full length portrait of Austin,
which you see, was placed to the right of the Speaker's chair. At
the request of Austin's kindred, I then presented it to a joint ses-
sion of the Legislature in their name,2 and you will excuse me for
remembering that I then expressed the hope that Texas some day
'The thirty-first legislature, at its fourth called session, made provision
for the removal of the remains of Stephen F. Austin from Peach Point, in
Brazoria County, to the State Cemetery in Austin. On October 18, 1910,
in the presence of a legislative committee and some of Austin's relatives,
the grave was opened and his bones were found in a state of complete
preservation. (The Galveston Daily News, of October 19, contains an
excellent account of the disinterment.) They were placed in a casket and
brought to Austin, by way of Houston. At Houston services were held
in honor of the occasion, and at Austin the remains were received at the
station and escorted with military ceremony to the Capitol, where they
lay in state until the morning of the 20th, when they were interred in the
State Cemetery. On the evening of the 19th services were held in the
Senate Chamber, and Judge Terrell delivered the address which is here
printed. Judge Terrell is President of the Texas State Historical Associa-
tion. As a resident of Texas for fifty-eight years, he has enjoyed acquaint-
ance with many of the men who knew Austin intimately, and the address
is, therefore, the result of a blending of his knowledge of Austin gained
from books and some study of manuscript sources with that obtained
from association with those who knew Austin in person.-Editors of THE
QUARTERLY.
2The address of Judge Terrell, presenting Austin's portrait to the State
of Texas, is printed in Journal of the House of Representatives, 21 Legis-
lature, pp. 516-523.