Texas Day by Day
On this day in Texas history…
Today's Entries 2 found
1. Empresarios receive colonization contracts
April 15th, 1825

On this day in 1825, Haden Edwards, Green DeWitt, and Robert Leftwich received empresario contracts. The government of Mexico, which had gained independence from Spain in 1821, issued the contracts to encourage the settlement of Coahuila and Texas. The hopes of all three empresarios were frustrated. The Edwards Colony, near Nacogdoches, was plagued by conflicting land claims and other controversies which eventually caused Edwards to depart and resulted in the Fredonian Rebellion. The DeWitt Colony, on the Guadalupe River adjoining that of Stephen F. Austin, enjoyed some initial success, though DeWitt was unable to fulfill the terms of his contract by the time it expired in 1831. Leftwich's Grant, along the Navasota River, later became known as Robertson's colony, and was the subject of much legal disputation between Austin and Sterling C. Robertson.
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2. High court rules that Texas can sue in federal courts despite secession
April 15th, 1869

On this day in 1869, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that the state still had the right to sue in the federal courts despite having seceded in 1861. In a suit originally filed by the state in 1867, George Paschal argued on behalf of the state for an injunction preventing defendants George W. White, John Chiles, and others from tranferring bonds they received from the secession-era Texas State Military Board for supplying the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The most historically significant question involved was whether or not Texas, having seceded and not having completed Reconstruction, had status in the Union and therefore the right to sue in the United States Supreme Court. Paschal argued that the Union was indestructible and that the state's status in the Union therefore had been unchanged by the war. The defense argued that Texas, by seceding from the Union and later waging a war against the United States, had lost the status of a state in the Union and therefore had no right to sue in the United States Supreme Court. In its five-to-three decision, read by Chief Justice S. P. Chase, the court held the Union to be indestructible and thus not dissoluble by any act of a state, the government, or the people. The court thus repudiated the doctrine of state sovereignty.
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Recent & Upcoming Anniversaries
The following entries have anniversaries that occurred this month or will occur in the next 2 month(s):
200th Anniversary
- Moses Austin dies 1 month 3 weeks from now
185th Anniversary
- Mexican forces under Santa Anna capture key Brazos crossing 2 days ago
- Texas forces win at San Jacinto 1 week from now
- Horse Marines splash into action 1 month 2 weeks from now
- Texas rancher and traildriver born in Mississippi 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Santa Anna and Burnet sign Treaties of Velasco 1 month 23 hours from now
- Sarah Ann Horn and other settlers captured by Indians 1 week ago
- Indians take captives at Fort Parker 1 month 5 days from now
175th Anniversary
- First battle of Mexican War fought in South Texas 3 weeks from now
170th Anniversary
- New fort anchors Texas line of frontier defense 2 months 1 week from now
165th Anniversary
- Camels arrive for trial service in Texas 2 weeks from now
- Historic academy building dedicated in New Braunfels 3 days from now
- Memucan Hunt, Texas diplomat and politician, dies 1 month 3 weeks from now
160th Anniversary
- San Antonio mission reopens as Marianist training center 1 month 2 weeks from now
- One-time port of Saluria was prominent in the Civil War 1 week from now
- Birth of Texas author and women's club leader 3 weeks from now
- Woman joins Union army in male disguise 1 month 1 week from now
150th Anniversary
- El Chico's founder born in Mexico 1 month 2 weeks from now
- Attack on wagontrain precipitates decisive Indian war 1 month 4 days from now
- Legislature approves appropriation for Agricultural and Mechanical College 3 days from now
- State establishes agency to encourage immigration 1 month 1 week from now
145th Anniversary
- General Custer, once stationed in Texas, meets his Waterloo in Montana 2 months 1 week from now
- Historic ranch formed by partnership of legendary pioneers 2 months 4 days from now
- Construction begins on future Fort Sam Houston 1 month 3 weeks from now
140th Anniversary
- End of an era: Fort Griffin closes down 1 month 2 weeks from now
135th Anniversary
- Texas Radical Republican involved in Haymarket Massacre 2 weeks from now
- "Sandals" attack "Boots," setting off Laredo election riot 1 week ago
- "Texas bird lady" hatched in Corsicana 2 months 23 hours from now
125th Anniversary
- First meeting of Texas Division of United Daughters of the Confederacy 1 month 1 week from now
- Marshal guns down notorious outlaw cum lawman 1 week ago
120th Anniversary
- Roberts family sells Nacogdoches landmark 2 months 1 day from now
- Killing of sheriff precipitates ballad tradition 1 month 4 weeks from now
115th Anniversary
- Legendary lawman joins the Texas Rangers 1 week from now
110th Anniversary
- Magnolia Petroleum Company founded 1 week from now
- Fine arts association, Ney Museum founded 1 week ago
- Axe-wielding prohibitionist dies 1 month 2 weeks from now
- Mexican theatrical company opens in San Antonio 1 month 1 week from now
100th Anniversary
- Medical center for veterans opens in Kerrville 2 months 1 week from now
- Texas woman becomes the first black licensed pilot 2 months 1 day from now
- Majestic Theatre opens in Dallas 3 days ago
95th Anniversary
- Luling philanthropist celebrates oil deal with huge barbecue 1 month 3 weeks from now
90th Anniversary
- Pilot Wiley Post circles the earth to make aviation history 2 months 1 week from now
- Black Texas leader assassinated 1 week from now
- Legislature passes bill to study government reform 1 month 4 days from now
85th Anniversary
- Fantasy author commits suicide 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Texas Centennial Exposition opens 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Rock and roll legend born in Vernon 1 week from now
- Noted Texas journalist Hugh Fitzgerald dies 3 weeks from now
60th Anniversary
- Texas elects first Republican senator since Reconstruction 1 month 1 week from now
- Ma Ferguson dies 2 months 1 week from now
55th Anniversary
- American Academy of Arts and Letters honors black Texas poet 1 month 1 week from now
50th Anniversary
- Southwest Airlines takes to the air 2 months 4 days from now
- Mexican-American feminists meet in Houston 1 month 2 weeks from now
- LBJ Library dedicated in Austin 1 month 1 week from now
- Tejana superstar born in Lake Jackson 2 days from now
40th Anniversary
- Pioneer Big Bend photographer dies 2 months 1 week from now
35th Anniversary
- Houston honors Jewish fighters for Texas independence 2 weeks from now
30th Anniversary
- Queen Elizabeth visits historic black church in Houston 1 month 1 week from now
- Pioneer public-health doctor dies 1 month 3 weeks from now