Austin, Moses
Texan pioneer, was born in Durham, Conn. He removed to the west in 1798, and engaged in lead mining. In 1820 he went to Texas, and from Bexar forwarded to the Mexican commandant at Monterey a petition for permission to colonize three hundred American families in that section. Returning to Missouri in search of emigrants, he was robbed and exposed to hardships that caused his death. The Mexican authorities granted a tract of land for a colony, and his son, Stephen F. Austin, founded the settlement. He died June 10, 1821, in Louisiana.