New York 16th. December 1830
Col. Stephen F. Austin.
Sir/ It is perhaps a duty we owe to you to communicate the
inteligence contained in this letter, lest from reports that are abroad you
should be impressed with an idea in relation to our business,
unfriendly towards us, which we think you will not indulge when the
business is fully and fairly understood We have no doubt that you
are aware of the Contracts made by Government of Mexico and the
State of Coahuila and Texas with Govr Lorenzo de Zavala, Joseph
Vehlein and David G. Burnet as Empresarios in relation to certain
Lands lying East of you and bordering on the United States. The
land comprehended within the boundaries of the four grants made
to those gentlemen is estimated to contain about 15 millions of Acres.
One condition among others is to put on in all 1200 families of
various Nations These Grants have been formed and combined into one
company and conveyed to Anthony Dey and George Curtis of New
York and William H. Sumner of Boston as Trustees and Attornies
of the Empresarios to fulfil their engagement, and one great effort
is about to be made to colonize those grants according to the laws of
Mexico— For that purpose Mr. Zavala sails for France in a few
days to procure settlers from Germany, France and Switzerland—
other efforts are making by other Gentlemen to bring colonizers from
England, Ireland and Scotland— A vessel will sail from this City
in a few days with Swiss and Germans, with a few agents of the
Company—these are intended as a pioneer party, to prepare huts,
shantees and other temporary accommodation for the settlers as they
arrive from Europe or elsewhere and to prepare for them bread stuff
on which to subsist, until the settlers can make their locations and
build houses for themselves— The combined interest in these grants
is great and the pains taking to diffuse knowledge and information
in relation to Texas will we think have the tendency to direct the
attention of many persons towards that country and your colony
must of course considering it[s] advanced state of cultivation have
an advantage over any other We are making a publication which
we will take pleasure in forwarding to you in a few days which
developes our whole plan of operations and we expect to send Col.
Mexia to see you, with an agent very shortly to propose to you
certain arrangements which we think will tend much to your advantage
in relation to the future settlement of your colony and for
consideration of such other matters as may be considered for the joint benefit
of all the Empresarios in Texas—
Govr Zavala Mr. Vehlein and Mr. Burnet each retain large
interests in the Company and will use their best endeavours for the
promotion of its interests.—
We cannot however but express a wish, that there was a toleration
as regards religion in that Country, many of the best farmers, who
are not Roman Catholics would remove to it, were it not for the
fact that they must become Romanists in their religion, and we hope
soon to see a more benign feeling in the Government towards North
Americans— The Government must be satisfied by this time that
the United States have not had any disposition to take the Country
by force of arms.
The class of men that would improve the face of that country
more than any others would be the hardy yeomanry of the New
England states. We now contemplate to send in their place
Europeans to comply with the Contracts but we hope the time is not
far distant when a more friendly relation will exist between our
governments— We shall be glad to hear from you any suggestion
that will tend to our individual and mutual benefit— Our
Co-Trustee Mr. Sumner is at Boston at present, and we avail ourselves
of the present opportunity by Mr. Treat to make this
Communication to you which we trust will be met with a corresponding feeling
on your part, and
remain very respectfully
Anthy Dey
No. 27 Nassau St
George Curtis
No. 17 Hanover Street