TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Scope and Contents
Index Terms
Administrative Information
Description of Series
Inventory
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A Guide to the David Gouverneur Burnet Papers, 1798-1965
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| Creators | Burnet, David Gouverneur, 1788-1870 |
| Abstract | Papers pertain to the career of David G. Burnet (1788-1870),
president ad interim of the Republic of Texas and later
secretary of state of the Republic and of the state of
Texas. |
| Extent | 1 ft., 7 in.; Correspondence, letter books, speeches, literary productions, financial papers, memorandum books, newspaper clippings, deeds, wills, and legal documents. |
| Laguage | Materials
are written in English. |
| Repository | Center for
American History, The University of Texas at
Austin |
Born April 14, 1788, in Newark, New Jersey, David Gouverneur Burnett was orphaned early in life and largely raised by his half-brothers. Young Burnett studied law and lived in Ohio and Louisiana before obtaining an empresario grant to settle a large tract of land near Nacogdoches, Texas. After an unsuccessful attempt to attract settlers, Burnett sold the rights to the land grant and used his earnings to build a sawmill on the San Jacinto River. By 1835 he was involved in revolutionary politics, expressing distaste for the dictatorial Mexican regime but initially opposing Texas independence. He attended the Convention of 1836, however, as a non-delegate, and his status as an outsider prompted the delegation to elect him ad interim president of the new Republic of Texas.
Burnet's short term lasted only until October of 1836 but was filled with rancor, including ill will between Burnet and Sam Houston. His sawmill was a failure, his law practice languished, and he was relegated to subsistence farming. By 1838, however, Burnet returned to public office and was elected to serve as vice president under Mirabeau Lamar. He subsequently ran for president in 1841 against Sam Houston, a race marked by strife and ending in Burnet's defeat. Burnet opposed Texas' annexation by the United States, but he served as the new State of Texas' secretary of state in 1846. Paradoxically he opposed secession but supported the southern cause, perhaps because his son fought for the Confederacy. The boy died in battle at Mobile in 1863. Burnet returned to Galveston, where he died virtually destitute on December 5, 1870.
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Papers pertain to the career of David G. Burnet (1788-1870),
president ad interim of the Republic of Texas and later
secretary of state of the Republic and of the state of
Texas, and contain information about his early attempts at
colonization in Texas as well as the events that transpired
during his days in public office. Included is his handling
of the Santa Anna affair, his feud with Sam Houston, and his
concerns about statehood, the judiciary, and the Indian
question as well as personal correspondence between Burnet
and his brothers. In addition the collection contains a
substantial file of documents concerning the early
colonization efforts of Moses and Stephen F. Austin.
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| Arranged chronologically under subject. |
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| Subjects (Persons) |
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| | Austin, Moses, 1761-1821. |
| | Austin, Stephen F. (Stephen Fuller), 1793-1836. |
| | Bryan, James, 1788-1822. |
| | Burnet, David Gouverneur, 1788-1870--Archives. |
| | Burnet, Isaac G. (Isaac Gouverneur), 1784-1856. |
| | Burnet, Jacob, 1770-1853. |
| | Holley, Mary Austin, 1784-1846. |
| | Houston, Sam, 1793-1863. |
| | Lamar, Mirabeau Buonaparte, 1798-1859. |
| | Milam, Benjamin Rush, 1788-1835. |
| Subjects |
| | Frontier and pioneer life--Texas. |
| | Indians of North America--Texas--Wars--1815-1875. |
| | Land grants--Texas--History--19th century. |
| | San Jacinto, Battle of, 1836. |
| Places |
| | Austin's Colony (Tex.)--History--Sources. |
| | Cincinnati (Ohio)--History--Sources. |
| | Texas--History--Republic, 1836-1846. |
| | Texas--History--Revolution, 1835-1836. |
| | Texas--History--To 1846. |
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David Gouverneur Burnet Papers, 1798-1965, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin
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Inventory
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| 2B159 | | | Personal correspondence, 1829-1861 |
| | | Business correspondence, undated |
| | | Stephen F. Austin to Burnet, 1829, 1833, and undated |
| | | Austin papers, 1798-1820 |
| | | Burnet's speech on the Supreme Court bill, 1840 |
| | | Burnet on the Indian Bureau, 1847 |
| | | Burnet's defense, undated |
| | | Burnet's scheme for colonizing Texas, undated |
| | | Heard and Mercer communication, undated |
| | | Ben Milam letters, June 22, 1829, and September 15, 1829 |
| | | Burnet's reply to Sam Houston's speech on Edwin Ward Moore, June 11, 1855 |
| | | Colonel Tarleton on Sam Houston, November 1855 |
| | | Burnet and Lamar on Houston, undated |
| | | Criticism on book Life of Sam Houston, 1855 |
| | | Narratives concerning San Jacinto by Jones, Heard, and Turner, 1855 |
| | | Extract of a letter from Edwin Waller, undated |
| | | Legal papers, 1826-1890 and undated |
| | | Financial papers, 1846-1892 and undated |
| | | "The Red River Raft," undated |
| | | "Manifesto of the Convention of Texas," 1867 |
| | | "To the People of Texas," undated |
| | | "Emigration to Texas in Mexico," ca. 1832 |
| | | Burnet on chief justices of counties, June 1840 |
| | | Burnet on the Cherokee Land Bill and Treaty, 1839-1840 |
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| 2B160 | | | Documents, 1824-1890 |
| | | "Extracts from Burnet's Review of Kennedy," copied by Mary Austin Holley, April 23, 1844 |
| | | "Review of Kennedy's History of Texas by Texian Farmer," 1842 |
| | | Transcripts of Burnet's papers from Rosenburg Library, 1838-1869 |
| | | Family Bible materials, 1830-1860 |
| | | Memorandum books, 1856-1865 |
| | | Newspaper clippings, 1855, 1861, 1865 |
| | | Sam Houston letters and newspaper clippings, February 1830-March 1830, April 1836, and undated |
| | | Transcript of newspaper clipping "Life of David G. Burnet," The Civilian and Gazette, June 16, 1866 |
| | | General Houston's speech, undated |
| | | Fragments and parts of letters, undated |
| | | Miscellaneous biographical information |
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| 2Q457 | | | Vol. I: Typed transcripts from letters to Treasury Department |
| | | | No. 1, March-November 1836 |
| | | | No. 36, December 1838-November 1841 |
| | | | No. 38, June 1839-February 1841 |
| | | Vol. II: Typed transcripts from proclamations |
| | | | No. 35, 1836 |
| | | | Nos. 41, 42, and 255, 1839-1841 |
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| 2Q458 | | | Typed transcript of executive record book: |
| | | | Letter book B, no. 34, part I, March 20-May 1, 1836 |
| | | | part II, May 14-June 13, 1836 |
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| 3S194 | | | Handwritten memorandum of a speech delivered in Travis County by D.G. Burnet. |
| | | Two notes for pages 13 and 15 of Coleman's pamphlet. |
| | | Land grant certificate, 1846 |
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| MAP | | | Map Collection: |
| | | | Plat map of D'Hanis, Medina County, ca. 1859 |
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