The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 74, July 1970 - April, 1971 Page: 395
616 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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He has travelled several hundred miles through this and another
colony &c prefers this settlement to any other where there is vacant
land. He endeavors to make the best of a bad bargain-[that] is
all that can be said of his removal to Texas. The country is not half
so desirable as it was represented by his brother [Dr. Thomas Kenney].'
The climate is as pestilential as any of your southern states & you
know what the state of society must be in a land peopled by misfortune
& crime. The Mexican Congress have granted the citizens liberty of
conscience & I think there is now an opening for a Missionary to be
useful. The Mississippi Co[u]nc[i]l have ordered one on in the
Spring, 8c we would be grateful to the Kentucky Co[u]nc[i]l if they
could spare us one at their next Session. Mr. Kenney is very accept-
able as a preacher. If it were not for his poverty he might spend all
his time in that way. There are some other sorts of preachers here, but
tales have followed them from the U.S. which makes good people
shun & bad people hate them.
This is an extremely hard place to procure the common comforts
of life, every thing that is brought here & every thing raised here
is held at the highest prices. There is no money in the country but
what little emigrants bring here, & they must give up the last dollar
they have, & then the citizens must have their property to their very
clothes. I have been insulted by people because I would not sell Garner
[a slave] for chips and whetstones. They consider me too poor to keep
a servant or wear shoes d& stockings. More than half my clothes were
in the trunks that were left in Arkansas & which have never been heard
of, & of what remained I have sold one dress for soap to wash the others
and another to help pay for a cow. I have given nearly all my earn-
ings for provisions, & have often been half starved. You may. suppose
then that your supply came in good time, though we are all so hearty
this winter we do not feel the want of what we cannot get so much.
In coming to this country I spent $79. My saddle was sold on the
road for 9, & after my arrival here with some little [money] I got for
sewing & knitting added to what I had left I loaned Mr. Kenney $50.
His brother created a debt in Brazoria of one $1 29. He to be sure, must
be his brother's partner. Tom moved out of this municipality & Mr.
K. was sued for the whole. Judgment obtained & the sheriff sent to
execute property. Everything we all had, would not pay the debt. I
learned enough of the Laws of Mexico to know that property descend-
6Thomas Kenney was killed near Round Rock in 1838. Ibid.395
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 74, July 1970 - April, 1971, periodical, 1971; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101200/m1/407/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.