Nelson Kavanaugh's Associates in the Republic of Texas, Part 1

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Back in October, I explored Nelson Kavanaugh's activities in the Republic of Texas. Nelson and I share the same white ancestor, and I only learned of him this fall. Nelson was a barber in Houston when the Republic of Texas decided that it did not want any freed blacks within its borders. There is a small file that contains Nelson's petitions to be allowed to stay in the Republic. As far as I can tell, his two petitions were rejected. In a previous post, I provided one petition comprised of men who had known Nelson Kavanaugh when he was a resident of Clinton, Mississippi in Hinds County. In that petition, those men vouched for Nelson's good character.

What appears to be Nelson's second petition, probably filed in late 1841, is composed of another group of men vouching for his good character. Some of them knew him in Mississippi and some knew him in Texas. It's hard at this point to know which is which.

In terms of researching Nelson Kavanaugh further, I'm floundering a bit, so I decided to research the men in the last petition. In theory, they should have each crossed paths with him in the Houston area or in Mississippi. I've just started researching them, but from what I've seen so far, this is not just a group of early settlers supporting Nelson. They were prominent men in Houston. How did all of them become acquainted with Nelson? My best guess is that he was their barber. This also suggests that Nelson may have been operating in some sort of storefront in Houston. Some of the signatures are hard to read, but one man tends to lead me to another. After researching each man, it should be possible to put together a timeline of sorts.

John R. Reid's signature was midway down the column on the right:

John R. Reid was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in the Republic of Texas in 1839. He was a trustee of the first church built in Houston, which was Presbyterian. He served as a member of the Republic's Congress from 1840 to 1841 but died on 25 December 1841 in Houston. This second document must have been created prior to December 25, 1841.

I. N. Moreland's signature was across from Reid's:

Major Isaac N Moreland was born in Georgia and arrived in Texas in 1834. He served in the storming of Bexar in 1835 and commanded the artillery at San Jacinto. It is thought that he became acquainted with Emily D. West, believed to be the Yellow Rose of Texas while at San Jacinto. Moreland was promoted to major 20 July 1836. He became the law partner of David Burnett in 1837. He died on 7 November 1840 while serving as Chief Justice of Harris County. This pushes the timeline for this document to a date prior to November 7, 1840.

Jame's Reily's signature was above Moreland's.

James Reily was born in Ohio in 1811. After receiving an education at the University of Transylvania in Lexington, Kentucky, he established a legal practice in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1835. However, by the following year, he was in was Texas. He and his family settled in Nacogdoches. He entered into a law practice with Thomas J. Rusk. When Rusk was elected Chief Justice of the Republic's Supreme Court in 1838, they relocated their offices to Houston. By 1839, Reily had changed law partners and was working with James Love. Reily represented Harris County in the House of Representatives in the 5th Congress of the Republic of Texas from 1840 to 1841. He was killed in 1863 during the Civil War. Since this pinpoints Reily's arrival in Houston to 1838, the date for Nelson Kavanaugh's document must fall between 1838 and November 7, 1840.

John Scott's signature is above Reily's:

John Scott was from North Carolina. He served as a representative to North Carolina House of Commons from Hillsborough, in Orange County from 1816 to 1827. Then from 1827 to 1834, he was the Solicitor General of North Carolina. When he lost his reelection to that position, he removed to Texas, leaving his wife and children in North Carolina. In 1839, he was judge of the Second Judicial District. He resigned the midst of misgivings about the legality of his appoint. He then ran for election to the position but lost. Then in 1840 he ran for Chief Justice and lost. Finally, he won the position of the recorder of the city of Houston in early 1842. He died on 4 June 1842.

More to follow...

Nelson Kavanaugh's Associates in the Republic of Texas, Part 2

Nelson Kavanaugh's Associates in the Republic of Texas, Part 3