George Antonio Nixon Collection:

A Guide

Biographical Note

Nixon was born in Ireland in 1781 and settled in Coahuila y Texas in the 1820s, becoming a citizen of Mexico in 1826. He was land commissioner for the Joseph Vehlein, Lorenzo de Zavala, and David G. Burnet empresario grants (which were represented by the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company) from July, 1834, to November, 1835, when the land office was closed by the provisional government of Texas. Nixon accumulated large personal holdings of land before his death in 1843.

Scope and Contents

The University of Texas at Arlington acquired the George Antonio Nixon collection in November of 1982. The collection consists of maps, a large assortment of legal documents, and correspondence. The documents span more than one hundred years of Texas history, from around 1800 to the early 1900's.

The provenance or underlying purpose of organization of these papers centers on the vast estate of George Antonio Nixon. George Nixon was born in Ireland in 1781. His family migrated to South Carolina when he was still a child. George joined the westward movement in the 1820's when he decided to move to the State of Coahuila y Texas in Mexico. Land was rich, plentiful, and cheap, and George became Jorge Antonio Nixon, Citizen of Mexico.

Nixon acquired his lands through land speculation in the late 1820's and early 1830's. He was a land commissioner in East Texas, and his contemporaries included Thomas J. Rusk, Sterling C. Robertson, Samuel M. Williams, Stephen F. Austin, and James Bowie. George supported the Texas Revolution, acquired the title of "Major", and developed a keen sense of the machinations of land laws.

Many of the papers relate directly to this period of Nixon's life, but the bulk of them were generated and collected by Nixon's stepson-in-law, Col. Henry Gillum. Col. Gillum became interested in the Nixon estate through his wife's half interest in the lands. Virginia Ann Gillum was stepsister to Rosa Priscilla Duffield, Nixon's granddaughter. Col. Gillum spent many years researching titles, hiring attorneys, and travelling extensively in order to prove title to 34,000 acres of prime East Texas land. His research was go thorough, his correspondence so intriguing, that his contributions to this collection must not be overlooked.

By simply reading the description of these documents, one can imagine the struggle of a young immigrant in a new land, the excitement of land speculation and revolution, the challenge of the title searches, and the impact of its conclusion. This collection is an outstanding contribution to our knowledge of Mexican land laws and the early Texas frontier.

Restrictions

Access

Open for research.

Literary Rights Statement

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

Administrative Information

Citation

George Antonio Nixon Collection, GA120, Box Number, Folder Number, The University of Texas at Arlington Library Special Collections.

Acquisition

Purchase. 1982.

Processing Information

Finding aid prepared by Lissa Jones, 1983. Revised August 3, 1987, by Katherine R. Goodwin. Revised October 8, 2006, by Maritza Arrigunaga and Ann E. Hodges.

Detailed Description of the Collection