Mart铆n de Le贸n: Tejano Empresario
Dr. Judy Alter PhD, Patrick Messersmith
Hardcover
(State House Press, April 10, 2007)
Don Mart铆n de Le贸n was the only Tejano empresario to settle a colony in Texas, in the days before statehood. Other empresarios, such as Moses Austin and Sterling C. Robertson, were Anglos who had been drawn to Texas by the lure of land. De Le贸n established his colony in southeast Texas, near the Gulf Coast, and founded the city of Victoria. He and his four sons governed the colony. Though Don Mart铆n died in 1833, his sons actively supported the Texas fight for independence by giving money and goods to the Texas Volunteers. But the family suffered from a general prejudice against people of Mexican descent鈥攖hey lost their land and livestock and had to leave Texas. They returned in the late 1840s, but they no longer had the immense holdings of land and cattle that Don Mart铆n had accumulated. In 1972, the de Le贸n family was honored with Texas state historical markers on family graves in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria. Finally, Mart铆n de Le贸n and his family are recognized for their loyalty to Texas, their support of the Texas Revolution, and their contributions to the Republic of Texas.Mart铆n de Le贸n is the fourth title in The Stars of Texas Series, aimed at fourth graders studying for the Texas history section of the TAKS test. The other three books in the series, Henrietta King: Rancher and Philanthropist, Mirabeau B. Lamar: Second President of Texas, and Miriam "Ma" Ferguson: First Woman Governor of Texas have been chosen for the Accelerated Reader program, and Henrietta King was a Spur Award finalist.