In a message dated 7/29/2005 7:50:05 PM Central Standard Time,
lorglo9(a)sbcglobal.net writes:
Sam Callison Apr.13,1835 age22 Gender M Port of Departure Brazoria Place
of origin U.S.A. Ship San Felipe James Callison Apr.13, 1835
Well not knowing where Brazoria and Aranzas Bay were located, I did an
internet search and found ithem on the coast of Texas. I guess all of you Texans'
knew that <smile>. Guess it was easier to travel by water on the Gulf of Mexico
from Texas to New Orleans than via land. Pretty interesting. I don't know the
counties of Texas but were they living close to the coast? SEE VERY
INTERESTING NOTE BELOW
So according to this record, this James was born in 1805 so may not be the
same James who married in 1818 IF the record is correct. It has Samuel born 1813
-- how does this compare with census records for him.
Does anyone have a record of when Anne Gillespie Callison died -- I presume
in Tennessee. Guess that would help determine if Samuel was a son or not. I can
see the birthplace of Tennessee or Alabama since they possibly lived in both
states. Sure would be nice to find some kind of census for James and Ann but
guess that is not going to happen.
Now, who is the John C age 37 in 1845 (born 1808). Is this the same as John
G. that was in Blount Co., Alabama.
So from the ship records, do I understand correctly that Samuel born 1813 and
James born 1805 were of the same family but the John C was different family??
So possibly Samuel and James were siblings BUT if the age of James is
correct, I don't see how they could be children of James Jr and Ann Gillespie since
James married in 1818. SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF MY MISERY. I am totally confused.
The only thing that I have any proof for is that fact that Robert who married
Sidney Pharies in Tennessee about the same time that James married Sarah Craig
is THE SAME Robert who went to Lauderdale County, Alabama and that his
children were probably William R., George W., Lewis and Richard.
Take care all
Marilyn
SAN FELIPE. The schooner San Felipe was purchased in New Orleans by Thomas F.
McKinneyqv to supply his tradinghouse in Quintana. The American-registered
ship was coasting between Brazoria and New Orleans as early as March 23, 1835,
when McKinney sailed on her to Louisiana. Lorenzo de Zavalaqv arrived at
Velasco aboard the San Felipe in July. In August 1835 Stephen F. Austinqv returned
to Texas from his imprisonment in Mexico by way of New Orleans aboard the San
Felipe, commanded by Capt. William A. Hurd.qv Although not a warship, the San
Felipe was then heavily armed and laden with a cargo of munitions. Upon
approaching Brazoria on September 1, she was taken in tow by the steamer Laura.qv
Austin, his fellow passengers, and much of the San Felipe's cargo had been
removed to the Laura for transshipment across the bar when she was approached by the
Mexican revenue cutter Correo de México. The Mexican cutter attempted to come
within cannon range of the San Felipe, and Hurd attempted to bring the San
Felipe alongside the Mexican ship to board her. The ensuing heavy exchange of
cannon and rifle fire lasted from about 8:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M., a battle in
which two of the Correo's guns were dismounted, most of the crew were wounded,
and her captain, Thomas M. (Mexico) Thompson,qv was shot twice in the legs.
Thereupon Thompson put to sea, and the San Felipe gave chase through the night.
On the morning of September 2 the Laura towed the San Felipe into range of the
Correo, and Thompson surrendered unconditionally. Hurd then escorted his
prize back to New Orleans. Because Thompson did not have a copy of his commission
on board, he and his crew were charged with piracy, and a comic-opera trial
ensued.
In October the San Felipe returned to Brazoria, and when the Mexican
schooner-of-war Montezuma appeared off the coast on the twenty-seventh, the Columbia
Committee of Safety ordered Lt. William J. Eaton of the Texas militia to take
charge of the San Felipe and give chase. Hurd's schooner overtook the Mexican
ship in Matagorda Bay on November 3. The San Felipe, with a crew of seventy men
(including McKinney) and a complement of seven cannons, attempted to close
with the Montezuma but ran aground on the morning of November 4. A part of the
crew returned overland to Brazoria; the rest remained with the ship. On
November 6 the San Felipe became the target of the Mexican man-of-war's broadsides.
"No blame can be attached to Captain Hurd either from want of skill or
attention," wrote Franklin C. Gray, one of the ship's volunteer crewmen. The mate
had,
however, "indulged too freely with the bottle," Gray believed. The San
Felipe's guns and part of its cargo were returned to Brazoria aboard the schooners
Congress and William Robbins (later named Libertyqv), and the ship, at first
reported as a total loss, was refloated on November 11 and arrived at Quintana
on the fifteenth. Deprived of the protection of the San Felipe, the citizens of
Brazoria fitted the William Robbins for war and retained the services of
Captain Hurd as its commander. The San Felipe was the first ship to transport
munitions into Texas after Stephen F. Austin made his decision to support the
cause of Texas liberty. The duel between the San Felipe and the Correo was the
first engagement in the Texas Revolution,qv and the victory of the San Felipe
cleared the Texas coast of the Mexican naval presence, thus guaranteeing, at
least for a time, the unhampered importation of arms and volunteers for the
struggle for independence.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Alex Dienst, "The Navy of the Republic of Texas," Quarterly of
the Texas State Historical Association 12-13 (January-October 1909; rpt., Fort
Collins, Colorado: Old Army Press, 1987). Jim Dan Hill, Texas Navy in
Forgotten Battles and Shirtsleeve Diplomacy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1937; rpt., Austin: State House, 1987). John H. Jenkins, ed., The Papers of the
Texas Revolution, 1835-1836 (10 vols., Austin: Presidial Press, 1973).
Thomas W. Cutrer