The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 40, July 1936 - April, 1937 Page: 51
348 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Mercer Colony in Texas, 1844-1883
a long tiresome journey, from that, to this country and what
added to the difficulty the greatest part was sick during our
voige or until we crosst Red river-after that we began to recover
and soon had good health-we stopt not very far from the Red
river and went into different parts of the country in search for
homes and finally after examination continued our voige to the
section of the country we started for to wit not far from the
forks of the Trinity River on the west side of the River on a
creek called ten mile or pleasant Run there was no settlement
on it until we come though we had much sickness there was no
death among us and all that started of us continued together and
have set down in close order so as to form a tolerable settlement
the creek that waters our neighborhood is of good sise for miles
and has sufficient water for that purpose the greater part of the
year we also have a goodly number of steady running branches
by which we can build-we are about six miles from Trinity River
where it can be navigated and where are fish in great abundance
especially the catfish, the land is or was vacant on which settled
and we shall be entitled to 320 Acres for settlement, that is,
families young men half that quantity though the timbered lands
are mostly taken in old surveys, yet is very generally to be sold
price varying at from 50 cts to one dollar per Acre and that
principally in trade the prairie land in our section of country
appears to be of superior quality to any I every saw in any other
country the soil is as deep or deeper than that of illonois and of a
darker coler and is very pleasantly rolling though not hilly in
fine as far the land in this country as far as I have seen which is
about 200 miles from where we crosst the Red River it is the
best I every saw in Any country in general the greatest objection
that can be raised against it is the scarcity of timber to remedy
this difficulty i have undertaken to cut a ditch around forty Acres
of land and the work is now progressing and i think will be com-
pleted against the middle of April next the work costs 25 cts per
rod besides boarding the hands I expect to get it principally broke
which will cost near three dollars per acre-having this enclosed
I think I may calculate to Raise plenty this season-for our
support the season though we were in camp, and moving from
the time we left Illinois untill very lately we have not suffered
but little with either wet or cold the weather has been very mild,
and moved to Illinois in 1821, where he stayed until the fall of 1844, when
he moved to Texas. He died in Lancaster, Texas, April 27, 1848.
A collection of letters written by the Rawlins family to their relatives
in Illinois is in the possession of Mrs. Ida Wise Day. She graciously
permitted their use in this thesis.
The information about Roderick Rawlins was furnished to the writer
by Mrs. Ida Wise Day, granddaughter of Roderick Rawlins, in a personal
interview. Subsequently the writer read an article on Roderick Rawlins
in The Dallas News of January 21, 1934.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 40, July 1936 - April, 1937, periodical, 1937; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101099/m1/59/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.