Grave of Moses Austin - Potosi, Missouri
Posted by: BruceS
N 37° 56.298 W 090° 47.360
15S E 694265 N 4201274
Grave of the "Grandfather of Texas" located in Potosi, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WM1NM4
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 06/09/2007
Views: 175
The following is an excerpt from Missouri: A Guide to the 'Show Me' State,
1941 in the Tour 13 section:
In the Presbyterian cemetery, one block northwest of the courthouse, is the
Grave of Moses Austin, marked by a plain box-like monument. Austin was
born in Durham, Connecticut, October 4, 1761, and part of his boyhood was spent
at Middletown, Connecticut, where there were important lead and smelting
operations during the Revolutionary War. Later he became a merchant in
Philadelphia and Richmond. In 1789 he acquired lead mines in southwestern
Virginia. In 1796-97 Austin explored the mines of Missouri, and after
obtaining the Mine à Breton grant he became Missouri's first industrialist, and
a leading citizen of the Territory. The depression following the Napoleonic
Wars, and the collapse of the Bank of St. Louis in 1818, bankrupted him.
The following year he conceived the plan of forming a colony in Texas, and
discussed the idea at Durham Hall, his Potosi home, with his son Stephen Fuller
Austin (1793-1836), who later, as "the Father of Texas," carried out their
plans. In 1820 Moses Austin rode by horseback to San Antonio, where he was
granted permission to settle 300 American colonists in Texas. The
hardships of the return journey destroyed his health and he died near Potosi, at
the home of his son-in-law, James Bryan, June 10, 1821. In April
1938, Texas attempted to remove his remains to the State cemetery in Austin,
where his son, Stephen F. Austin, is buried, but Potosi refused permission.
Moses Austin is known as the "Father of Potosi" and "Grandfather of Texas".
The account of the attempt to remove his remains to Texas in the above passage
is milder than some. The attempt was done at night and the Texans
attempting to remove his body were breaking through the "stone" covering his
grave thinking his body was entombed in it rather than buried. They were
stopped by the citizens of Potosi and they left town. The Governor of
Texas apologized to the City of Potosi for their action. The concrete
covering his grave was repaired and the repair remains visible. The grave is
often decorated with Texas flags (though was not on day I took pictures).