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Mary Jones: Last First Lady of the Republic of Texas

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Mary Jones: Last First Lady of the Republic of Texas MARY JONES: LAST FIRST LADY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS Birney Mark Fish, B.A., M.Div. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2011 APPROVED: Elizabeth Hayes Turner, Major Professor Richard B. McCaslin, Committee Member and Chair of the Department of History D. Harland Hagler, Committee Member Denis Paz, Committee Member Sandra L. Spencer, Committee Member and Director of the Women’s Studies Program James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Fish, Birney Mark. Mary Jones: Last First Lady of the Republic of Texas. Doctor of Philosophy (History), December 2011, 275 pp., 3 tables, 2 illustrations, bibliography, 327 titles. This dissertation uses archival and interpretive methods to examine the life and contributions of Mary Smith McCrory Jones in Texas. Specifically, this project investigates the ways in which Mary Jones emerged into the public sphere, utilized myth and memory, and managed her life as a widow. Each of these larger areas is examined in relation to historiographicaly accepted patterns and in the larger context of women in Texas, the South, and the nation during this period. Mary Jones, 1819-1907, experienced many of the key early periods in Anglo Texas history. The research traces her family’s immigration to Austin’s Colony and their early years under Mexican sovereignty. The Texas Revolution resulted in her move to Houston and her first brief marriage. Following the death of her husband she met and married Anson Jones, a physician who served in public posts throughout the period of the Texas Republic. Over time Anson was politically and personally rejected to the point that he committed suicide. This dissertation studies the effects this death had upon Mary’s personal goals, her use of a widow’s status to achieve her objectives, and her eventual emergence as a “Professional Widow.” Mary Jones’s attempts to rehabilitate her husband’s public image provided her with opportunities which in turn led her into a larger public sphere, enabled her to maintain her social-economic status as a widow, and to shape the public image of both her husband and parts of the Texas image. Mary Jones attempted to publish Anson’s papers, rehabilitate his memory, and preserve papers and artifacts from the period of the Republic. Directly and indirectly this led to the preservation of the San Jacinto battlefield, the reburial of her husband, the discovery of a copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the founding of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and her key role as steward of the Alamo. The research uses archival and interpretive methods to examine Women’s organizations and clubs as they emerged during her lifetime and her role as member or leader. Hundreds of Mary and her family’s personal letters survive in various Texas archives. Additionally, Anson’s journals and personal memoirs provide invaluable insight into Mary’s family life, character, and relationships. This research will include a review and comparison of her efforts with other women who in the process of protecting and reconstructing their husband’s images moved into a larger public sphere. Mary Jones served as president of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas for seventeen years. This provided her with the platform she needed to promote Anson’s image, focus memory and money upon the Texas Republic era, and move into a public sphere for herself. This dissertation contends that the work that Mary Jones did in her efforts to construct a positive public image for her husband eventually drew her into state-wide leadership roles, aided her to successfully reach social-economic goals even though widowed, and to effect the preservation and role of the Alamo in public memory. Copyright 2011 by Birney Mark Fish ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I complete this dissertation with a profound sense of thankfulness for those who contributed to this work in various ways. My dissertation committee not only provided me with valued comments and revisions for the dissertation but also formed the essential core of my instructors for most of my courses. So I give my heartfelt thank you to Elizabeth Hayes Turner, Richard B. McCaslin, D. Harland Hagler, Denis Paz, and Sandra L. Spencer for your careful and patient editing of my work. I have the deepest appreciation and gratitude for Liz Turner who started me on the journey with my subject and guided me throughout for whom. A number of others were essential to the research and writing of this dissertation. Most of my archival work was facilitated by the University of North Texas archival staff who were under the direction of Richard Himmel and then Michelle M. Mears. An additional thank you goes to those historians who in the classroom or through personal encouragement gave me hope when I needed it, especially Gregg Cantrell, Richard Lowe, and Andrès Tijerina. To my colleagues at Dallas Christian College who encouraged and prayed so diligently for me I thank you all for the support and love you shared with me. Finally, to my patient family, and particularly to my long suffering wife, Sheila I dedicate this dissertation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vi Chapters 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 2. THE FORMATIVE YEARS, 1819-1837 .......................................................... 21 3. BECOMING MRS. ANSON JONES: THE MARRIED YEARS, 1837-1858 ......... ................................................................................................................. 69 4. TEXAS WIDOW, 1858-1891 ......................................................................... 121 5. MARY JONES AND THE DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, 1891-1907 ............................................................................................. 171 6. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 230 Appendices A. FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS ........................................................................... 244 B. 1860 MARY JONES FARM: HEADQUARTERS .......................................... 247 C. SURVEY OF 100 HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD SURROUNDING MARY JONES ............................................................................................................... 249 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 252 iv LIST OF TABLES Page 1.1 Arkansas Population Growth .............................................................................. 25 2.1 Slaves Owned by Jones Family in 1850 ............................................................. 91 3.1 Occupational Comparisons 1860 to 1870 Harris County, Texas ...................... 145 v LIST OF FIGURES Page 1.1 Oyster Creek, east of the Brazos River in Austin’s Colony ................................. 48 2.1 Reconstruction of the Barrington Farmhouse ................................................... 105 vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In an 1899 letter, Mary Smith McCrory Jones declared that she had, “literally grown up and old with the state.” Indeed she arrived as a teenager in the Mexican province of Texas on November 18, 1833 and witnessed firsthand its difficult transitions and triumphs through numerous critical periods. From a settler in a pioneering wilderness to an activist in the opening decade of the twentieth century, her life and contributions uniquely fitted her to serve as the first president of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, (DRT). Despite a growth and interest in nineteenth-century women’s history in the South, there are women who still lack an adequate biography. Biographical research, analysis, and interpretation have moved beyond the two- dimensional histories that some women were subjected to in the past and can provide a well-rounded image of one who moved through the history of Texas from the Mexican period through the Progressive era. A study of the life of Mary Jones demonstrates her path from Old South gendered norms to a New South that offered her opportunities to reach her own goals. Mary utilized her status as first-lady and then widow of Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, to obtain influence in the Lone Star State. The tenacity Mary displayed helped her survive the loss of two husbands and the Civil War, yet she found a way to care for her family. In 1891 until her death in 1907, 1 she presided over the DRT, a large organization of women who resurrected a period of the past and provided a definitive interpretative narrative that helped to shape self- understanding for generations of Texans. In many ways, Mary was a pioneer who lived in frontier Texas and then, as the first president of the DRT, helped to shape Anglo Texans’ memories of their state’s origins. 1 Mary’s marriage to Anson Jones in 1840 ended with his suicide in 1858, but his bitterness over what he considered unjustified political slights lingered throughout his widow’s life. Mary Jones attempted to construct a positive public image for her husband, and this drew her into public life that eventually led to statewide leadership roles. Her personal
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