Heritage, 2011, Volume 2 Page: 11
39 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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RECOGNIZING THE DESCENDANTS
Traditionally, the Texas Indepen-
dence Day celebration at Washing-
ton-on-the-Brazos includes a Sunday
afternoon program. A rousing band,
keynote speaker, and theatrical vi-
gnettes followed by birthday cake are
the usual attractions at the Park's am-
phitheater. However, for this year's very
special celebration, the Fightin' Texas
Aggie Band performed a series of Lone
Star songs, and United States Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchison, a descendant
of signer Charles Stanfield Taylor, was
the keynote speaker. Reminding a cap-
tive audience of the sacrifices made by
the men who signed the Declaration,
she said, "They risked their lives, their
treasure, and the lives of their families
to do it." Jack Edmondson, a historical
re-enactor, in character as Sam Hous-
ton, read the opening paragraphs of
the Texas Declaration of Independence
and then led a dramatic roll call of the
signers' names. (Author's note: Histori-
cally, Houston did not read the Decla-
ration or conduct a roll call during theConvention.) Descendants responded
with "Here!" when their ancestor's
name was read. The responses ranged
from loud cheering and clapping as
each representative clan tried to out-
do the previous respondents, to the
hushed silence for those signers with-
out descendants, as some had never
married, had no children, or their lines
had already died out.
Another highlight of the program was
the unveiling of "The Big Picture!"--a
Texas-sized reproduction of the "Read-
ing of the Texas Declaration of Inde-
pendence," originally painted by artists
Charles and Fanny Normann for the
Texas Centennial celebration in 1936.
The Normanns' dramatic image was
divided into 72 segments, and then nu-
merous local artists, both professional
and amateur, were assigned a segment
to paint on a 2 by 3 feet panel. When
complete, the segments were assem-
bled to create an 18 by 24 feet facsim-
ile of the 1936 painting-three times
the size of the original. The Big Pic-
ture artists embodied the spirit of the
delegates, working together to createa special gift for Texas. Following the
event, the individual segments were
sold in an online auction to benefit the
Museum and Park.
Descendants were also invited to
view the Museum's commemorative
exhibit, "Fifty-nine for Freedom,"
which explored the life and contribu-
tions of each delegate. Artifacts and
documents owned or created by the
signers were brought together into a
single exhibit so that descendants at-
tending the weekend celebration could
get a glimpse into their ancestor's life.
Prominent pieces on loan included a
miniature portrait of Samuel Rhoads
Fisher, from family descendants; an
oil portrait of Samuel Augustus Mav-
erick, from the Witte Museum's col-
lection; and the green velvet hat that
Sam Houston ordered from Paris
for his 1841 inauguration, belong-
ing to the Sam Houston Memorial
Museum. Other signer artifacts, on
permanent display at the Star of the
Republic Museum, included Mar-
tin Parmer's walking cane, George
Smyth's pocket compass, and a threadVolume 2 2011 1 TEXASHERITAGE 11
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, 2011, Volume 2, periodical, 2011; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth254221/m1/13/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.