Mary Jane Harris Briscoe was born at Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, on August 17, 1819, one of four children of John Richardson and Jane Birdsall Harris. When John R. Harris left Missouri for Texas in 1824, Jane Harris and her children returned to New York. After the death of Harris in 1829 in New Orleans, Jane waited until 1833 when her eldest son was mature to travel to Texas and claim her inheritance. Mary Jane remained in New York and attended finishing school until allowed to proceed to Texas. She joined her family in Harrisburg in the fall of 1836 and soon became known as the
On October 4, 1849, Andrew died of yellow fever in New Orleans leaving his widow and children without a means of support. Mary Jane and her children moved to her father-in-law's plantation near Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi, and remained there until after General Parmenas' death. In 1852 she returned to Texas settling first in Anderson and later in Galveston and Harrisburg. In 1874 she moved to Houston to live with her son, Parmenas.
On July 18, 1881, as a widow of a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, she received a donation grant of 1,280 acres. She was a charter member of the Ladies' Reading Club, the first woman's club in Houston, and served as the treasurer until her death. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas was organized at the Briscoe home in 1891 where the local chapter continued to meet. She served as vice president of the DRT until 1897. Active in the Texas Veterans Association, Briscoe was held in high esteem by many of the veterans. Mary Jane founded Sheltering Arms, a home for needy women in Houston, and served as the first president. She wrote sketches and reminiscences and was a charter member of the Texas State Historical Association, of which she was elected an honorary life member in 1897. Briscoe became an invalid after suffering a fall in 1899 and died in Houston on March 8, 1903. She was buried in Glenwood Cemetery.
All other papers from the Adele Briscoe Looscan Collection are related to Mary Jane Harris Briscoe. All photographs are located in the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers.
Organized into nine series; arrangement is alphabetical, chronological, and by subject.
None.
Open for research by appointment.
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Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hill, Jr., Houston Public Library, Annie Hume, 1939-1940.
Processed by Sandra Eileen Yates, 2002.
[Identification of Item], Mary Jane Harris Briscoe Papers, MC056, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.
Correspondence received from friends, family, and businesses documents the life of Mary Jane Harris Briscoe. Long-time correspondents include Francis R. Lubbock (46), her servant Carrie Phelps (13), and friend Jessie Wade (11). Substantial correspondence from family members demonstrates the pivotal position Briscoe held within her immediate and extended family. A 1835 letter from DeWitt Clinton Harris discusses his role in the Anahuac Disturbance. Except for letters from Emily Briscoe (37), significant correspondence with her Briscoe in-laws ended with her return to Texas 3 years after Andrew's death. Letters from her son Andrew Birdsall Briscoe (62) and his wife Annie Payne Briscoe (47) record their lives as they establish a ranch, raise children, and later deal with Annie's prolonged illness. A lifelong correspondence with brother Lewis Birdsall Harris (1832-1890) deals with family, travel, and business in New York, Texas, and California. Correspondence from other members of her extensive family concerns genealogical investigations, family affairs, and financial matters. Correspondence sent includes letters to James Briscoe, the executor of her husband's will. Of particular interest are 5 spirit letters (n.d.) written most likely during a series of seances. Respondents during the seance include General Parmenas Briscoe and Andrew Briscoe, and discuss the Battle of San Jacinto and life after death. Letters shared with Briscoe comprise third party correspondence. Of interest are 2 letters to Nina from Lou discussing Nina's flight from her husband, Stanley, and his reactions.
A series of journals (1870-1894) records the daily life of Mary Jane Harris Briscoe including observations on the weather and people encountered. Several journals held previous functions. In the journal dated 1885-1886, the first 30 pages contain a surveyor's instruction manual and the back page has the title of
Account books, bank drafts, statements of account / receipts, and treasurer's reports to the Ladies' Reading Club reveal a woman managing her own financial affairs. Included in the daily account books is one devoted to the savings account of her servant, Carrie Phelps. Also of interest are two account books, possibly of sharecroppers, labeled
Report cards of Parmenas, Andrew Birdsall, and Jesse Wade Briscoe from Anderson, Texas, 5 drafts of Mary Jane Briscoe's will, leases, and court costs from Briscoe's suit against A. W. and Virginia Scoble in 1876 briefly record Mary Jane Briscoe's legal affairs.
Receipts related to Briscoe's last illness and funeral expenses, legal documents, written memorials, and floral tribute cards demonstrate the high regard held for Mary Jane Briscoe. Of interest is the memorial by the legislative committee appointed to view the San Jacinto Battlefield. Hearing of her death while on the battlefield, they picked wild violets and sent them to be placed upon her bier. A map included in the legal documents delineates the boundaries between her properties and those of Virginia Scoble in Harrisburg.
Calling cards, memorials and funeral notices, price lists, circulars, programs, and materials from the Alamo Monument Association, the Daughters of the Revolution, and the Texas Veterans Association record the interests and activities of Mary Jane Briscoe. Calling cards (21) from her early days as the
Collected works, manuscripts, notes, and recipes illuminate the intellectually active and curious life of Mary Jane Briscoe. Of particular interest in the collected works is an exercise book (1871-1875) from the Young Ladies Boarding ＆ Day School at the corner of Crawford and McKinney streets in Houston, Texas, and a school notebook, possibly belonging to Annie Belle Harris. Manuscripts include studies of history, literature, and biography. The bulk are lectures about various literary figures, such as Francis Bacon and Walter Scott, written for the Ladies Reading Club. Other manuscripts include a lengthy history of Harris County, and biographical sketches of Andrew Briscoe and Lorenzo de Zavala. A rough draft of a play about the Texas Revolution with W. B. Travis as one of the characters demonstrates Briscoe's interest in writing and history. Briscoe dictated an 1899 recollection entitled
Notes and memoranda include a list with names of people Mary Jane Briscoe met at the 1887 Texas Veterans Association annual meeting, a shopping list, and notes written on envelopes.
Two scrapbooks record the thoughts and interests of the creator of the scrapbook. One contains primarily newspaper clippings from the late 19th century. The other is inscribed