The Capitol Boycott

The current Capitol in Austin has stood for more than 130 years and has seen its share of controversies, including one before it was officially opened. The construction of the Capitol sparked a boycott and a national conversation on the use of contract labor. 

The Texas Capitol under construction, c. 1887. Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, PICA 18008.

How to Build a Capitol with No Money
In the late 1800s, Texas was out growing its Capitol, but had little ready cash. When the 1876 Constitution was written, an article was included that set aside 3 million acres in the Texas Panhandle to be used to fund the new Capitol. However, it lay unused until a fire destroyed the Capitol in 1881. At that point, the legislature found some investors, calling themselves the Capitol Syndicate, who agreed to take the land in trade for constructing the Capitol. By 1885, the Capitol Syndicate realized that the land was not nearly as profitable as they had hoped and they needed a way to bring down the cost of construction. The legislature agreed to let them use convict labor from Texas prisons.

Black Convict Laborers shaping granite near the Marble Falls quarry, c. 1885. Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, PICA 06358 [source]

Black Convict Labor
The 1880s were well into the Jim Crow era in Texas. One of the hallmarks of the Jim Crow era were laws that disproportionately punished African Americans and a justice system that did not really care if African Americans brought before the court were innocent or guilty. This led to a large population of incarcerated African American men, and it was these men that were leased to the Capitol Syndicate for work on the new capitol. Much of the South was using convict labor to replace the enslaved labor that had been used prior to the Civil War, sometimes with African Americans forced to work the same plantations they had formerly been enslaved at. The Capitol syndicate paid $0.65 per day per convict to the state to cover room and board. These men were used as stone cutters for the limestone and granite and constructed the railroad to take the granite to the building site. The local mason’s union was not happy.

A group of the Scottish Stonemasons brought to Texas to break the boycott, c. 1886. Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, C00194 [source]

The Boycott
The masons in Texas decided to boycott the Capitol building project. They felt that the use of unskilled convict labor denigrated their profession and depressed their wages. A notice circulated in Austin saying “Granite cutters of America, show this Great-I-Am, Gus Wilkie, and his Chicago syndicate, that free men will not submit to the introduction of slavery into our trade under the guise of contract convict labor, and that you will not teach convicts our trade to enrich these schemers, who care for nothing but the almighty dollar, and now seek to degrade our trade to fill their own pockets.” The masons refused to work on the Capitol unless they stopped using convict labor to quarry the stone. The subcontractor, Gus Wilkie, refused. However, the project still needed skilled masons. Wilkie sent George Berry to Scotland and to recruit stonemasons to bring back to Texas. The local masons caught wind of this and jumped into action. A law had been passed in 1885 forbidding bringing in immigrants to perform contract labor and Wilkie was about to break it. They sent union representatives to meet Berry in New York and he was brought before US District Attorney, who questioned him about the 86 men and could find no proof of wrong doing and release him. Meanwhile, the union representatives talked with the workers and found that each had a contract from Berry, in clear violation of law. Many of these workers refused to continue with the project and helped to provide the proof the US District Attorney needed. However, another boat of 62 men were on their way from Scotland, headed for Galveston. Union representatives were sent to meet the men in New York and Galveston, but the Scottish masons were unloaded in Virginia, then sent the rest of the way to Austin by rail. In July 1886, the US District Attorney filed charges against Gus Wilkie and the members of the Capitol syndicate, but, while the case wound its way through the courts, the work on the capitol continued apace, with the Scottish masons overseeing the African American convict laborers.

Continuing the Fight
It took several years for the lawsuit to finally bear fruit, and it wasn’t necessarily the fruit the masons had wanted. Only Gus Wilkie was charged for the illegal strike breakers, and he was fined $1,000 per worker – for a total of $64,000. Wilkie appealed the decision to President Harrison and, despite the pleas of the union, Harrison reduced the fine to $8,000. The US National Union exacted their own payment, requiring Wilkie to pay them $500 before they would allow union masons to work on any project he was involved in, while the International Union required $500 to remove his name from blacklisting. But during that time, the case sparked a national debate on contract labor. Meanwhile, convict labor is still widely used in Texas, though opponents continue to lobby strongly against its use, or, if it is used, for a fair wage and good working conditions for the workers.

Oliver Loving

Oliver Loving. [source]

Farmer to Rancher
Oliver Loving was born in Kentucky in 1912. He grew up there, married Susan Morgan, and worked his farm. In 1943, he picked the family up to move to the Republic of Texas. There he was granted three parcels of land totaling a little over 600 acres, which he began to farm. Loving and his wife eventually had nine children and Loving began hauling freight and running a store to help make ends meets. By 1857, Loving owned more than 1,000 acres of land, which he used to run cattle. With so many cattle ranches in Texas, it was more profitable to drive the cattle out of state and Loving sent his son, William, up the Shawnee trail in 1857, with Loving himself driving the cattle in subsequent years.

The Cattle Trails of the West. The Goodnight-Loving trail is highlighted in red.

New Trails
In 1860, Loving drove his cattle to Denver, Colorado, where an influx of miners had increased the need for beef. Loving stayed in Colorado for the winter, but the Civil War broke out and Union authorities prevented him from leaving for Confederate territory. However, Kit Carson spoke on his behalf and Loving was allowed to return to Texas. There, the Confederate army contracted with him to provide beef cattle for the troops and Loving spent the war years driving cattle across the Confederacy. After the war ended, cattle prices in Texas plummeted. On top of that, the Confederacy owed Loving over $100,000, which he couldn’t recoup. In an effort to make money from his diminished herd, Loving hit on the idea of taking his cattle to the Native Reservations in New Mexico. Loving joined his herd with that of Charles Goodnight and the two men and their ranch hands began the long drive in June of 1866. The trail followed the former path of the Butterfield Overland Mail coaches before turning north at the Pecos River. Others had followed this path, but it was Loving and Goodnight who made it famous and gave it its name: the Goodnight-Loving Trail. The two men were able to sell much of their cattle to the US Army at the Bosque Redondo Reservation, but Loving continued with the remainder of the herd to Colorado while Goodnight returned to Texas with the $12,000 dollars they’d earned to buy more cattle. The drive was so successful, Loving and Goodnight decided to take the same trail the next year. It would be Loving’s last drive.

A Legendary Death
In the summer of 1867, Loving and Goodnight set out for New Mexico once more. The weather on the route was terrible and Loving pushed ahead with Bill Wilson, a scout, to start the deal with the army. Despite knowing the dangers, Loving traveled during the day through the Comanchería. As they reached the Pecos River, the Comanche attacked and Loving was wounded. Loving sent Wilson back to Goodnight and the herd while he continued on. With the help of some Mexican traders, he managed to arrive at Fort Sumner, but quickly fell ill with gangrene. Goodnight arrived at the Fort before Loving died and promised him that he would bury Loving in Texas soil. Goodnight had to finish driving the cattle to Colorado, so Loving was temporarily buried at Fort Sumner. Goodnight retrieved his body on the way back and Loving was reinterred in Weatherford, Texas on March 4, 1868. Larry McMurtry would later borrow Loving’s death for his novel Lonesome Dove.

The 1867 Settlement and the Bell Family

https://www.coastmonthly.com/2017/01/keeping-story-alive/

Thomas Britton, working with a horse. Thomas was considered one of the best cowboys on the Butler Ranch. [source]

The 1867 Settlement
After the Civil War ended and Juneteenth brought the official end of slavery in Texas, many newly freed African Americans began founding their own communities. Near Houston, George Washington Butler had enslaved many men and women to work on his cattle ranch. During the war, they drove cattle throughout the Confederacy to feed the Confederate troops. After emancipation, many stayed on the ranch as paid employees, driving cattle on the Chisholm trail and taking part of their pay in cattle. In 1867, several families that had worked on the ranch established their own town in what is today Texas City. The Brittons, Bells, Caldwells, and Hobgoods used their wages from the ranch to purchase land that had been set aside by Judge William Jones for freedman who had local businessmen who could vouch for their character. The community was known variously throughout the years as the 1867 Settlement, Our Settlement, Campbellville (after the resident pastor), Highland City (after a nearby railroad station), Highland Station, and Highlands, though it is now mostly remembered simply as Settlement.

Calvin and Katie Bell. [source]

The Bells
Some of the earliest residents of the Settlement were Calvin and Katie Bell. Katie, whose birth name was Eunistine Johnston, was a German immigrant who had worked at the Butler Ranch, where she met and married Calvin Bell. The couple moved to the Settlement in 1874 where they continued to ranch. Calvin registered his own cattle brand in 1878, a U, an example of which is now in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Katie was the Settlement’s first school teacher, a post that led to an incredible 88% literacy rate in the community. In 1893, a court case was brought against the Bells that their marriage was unlawful, since Calvin was African American and Katie was white. Calvin was acquitted on the grounds that he may not have realized that Katie was white, while Katie was sentenced to 2 years in prison. The couple lived together for a little while after Katie was released from prison, but fear of reprisal led Calvin to move to another house nearby, though there is evidence that he did not entirely abandon Katie. The Bells had 7 children, many of whom stayed in the community and worked to improve it.

The Frank Bell, Sr. and Flavilla Bell Home. [source]

Growth, Decline, and Revival
The Settlement saw a lot of property damage from the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, but continued to grow as African Americans displaced by the hurricane moved further inland. Employment shifted from farming and ranching to the oil industry and factory work growing out of nearby Houston, though rodeos continued to be part of the community’s way of life. Frank Bell, Jr. donated land for a community park in 1948, by which time the community had begun to sprawl into nearby La Marque. In the 1950s and 60s, the community began to shrink. Surrounding towns had grown up to the boundaries of the Settlement and Texas City annexed the community in 1953. The area schools were desegregated in the 1960s and the Settlement’s all-black school was closed, leading many young people to leave the Settlement. Over the years, almost all of the original buildings have been torn down. The only one left is the Bell house, built by Calvin and Katie’s son Frank Bell, Sr. The community has begun to rally around the house and the history it represents. In 2010, the 1867 Settlement was listed on the National Register of Historic Districts and markers have been placed throughout the community. Efforts are still underway, but the hope is to turn the Bell house into a community museum, telling the story of the early black cowboys and their families who carved a place for themselves. 

The 1900 Galveston Hurricane

Galveston
Galveston is located on one of the barrier islands the line the Texas coast. In 1900, Galveston was a booming port town. One of the largest cities in Texas and one of the largest ports in the US, it was known for its number of wealthy residents and extravagant buildings. It was also highly cosmopolitan, since many African Americans had come to the city after the Civil War and Galveston was a port of entry for immigrants, many of whom settled there. At the turn of the century, Galveston had a population of 37,000 people, which swelled in the summer months with beach-going tourists. Despite the destruction of Indianola on the Texas coast by two storms in the previous decades, it was the professional opinion of many in the US Weather Bureau, and particularly Isaac Cline, who was stationed there, that the city of Galveston was perfectly positioned to be safe from all major storms. They were wrong.

Path of the Galveston Hurricane. [source]

The Storm
On September 1st, 1900, a tropical storm formed in the Caribbean. It made landfall as a weak tropical storm in the Dominican Republic, then Puerto Rico, before reaching Cuba on the 3rd. The Cuban meteorologists were familiar with hurricanes – they’d studied them for hundreds of years – and Father Lorenzo Gangoite, head of the Belen College Observatory had been watching the storm develop. As it passed over Cuba and into the Gulf, he told the US Weather Bureau station on the island that the signs all pointed to a storm that would strengthen as it entered the Gulf and head for the Texas coast. The US Weather Bureau disregarded the Cuban meteorologists’ expertise. They thought that the storm would swing and head up the Atlantic Coast. To that end, the Weather Bureau issued storm warnings along the Florida, Georgia, and Carolina coasts. The Cubans, of course, were right. On the 6th, the storm that had strengthened to hurricane winds passed over the ship Louisiana in the Gulf. The US Weather Bureau was confused, initially thinking that they’d lost the Cuban storm headed up the coast and discovered another major storm that had appeared in the Gulf. Even after they realized it was the same storm, they underestimated it’s intensity. Willis Moore, director of the Weather Bureau, refused to call it a hurricane or issue more than strong wind warnings for the Texas coast. He also forbid the station in Galveston to issue them, worrying that it would cause a panic. On the afternoon of September 8th, Galveston was hit nearly directly with a Category 4 hurricane with almost no warning.

Damage Map of Galveston after the hurricane. Water covered the entire island and more than 3 thousand buildings were completely destroyed. Published in the Houston Post, September 27, 1900. [source]

Aftermath of the 1900 Galveston storm. Library of Congress. [source]

The Aftermath
When the hurricane finally cleared Galveston, the damage was horrific. A 15 foot storm surge had covered the entire island and had knocked buildings off their foundations and into other buildings. About a third of buildings in the city were completely destroyed. The death toll was high. Isaac Cline eventually issued a hurricane warning and spent some of the afternoon warning people to leave the city, or at least the beach front, but few did. Those who delayed were trapped when the bridges to the mainland were destroyed. Official death counts were around 6 to 8 thousand, but estimates range as high as 12,000. The train from Houston was unable to reach Galveston after the storm, due to debris on and damage to the track, and passengers reported seeing dead bodies from the train. With the island nearly destroyed, the bodies couldn’t be buried and so instead were taken out on barges for a burial at sea. Horrifically, the bodies started washing up on the beaches with the next tide. Finally, funeral pyres were lit and continued to burn for weeks. The storm continued what is today considered a typical path, hitting Houston, Oklahoma, and the Midwest before swinging to the Northeast and finally leaving the continent through Nova Scotia. Even after being weakened by traveling over land, the remnants of the storm caused hundreds of casualties in Canada.

The Seawall, Galveston, Texas, 1907. University of Houston Digital Library. [source]

Galveston Today
Galveston never completely recovered from the 1900 hurricane. They built a sea wall almost 10 miles long and 17 feet tall and pumped in sand from the gulf to raise the entire city up about 7 feet. Though these measures protected the city from future storms – a Category 4 hurricane in 1915 resulted in significantly less damage and loss of life – they couldn’t protect the city’s image. Investors thought that Galveston was too exposed as a port and turned instead to the city of Houston, further inland. The Houston shipping channel was dredged in 1909 and Galveston’s status as a port city was further eroded. Today, Galveston is known as a tourist destination. Tourists can stay in historic hotels, including one that survived the Galveston storm, and are drawn to the many activities available along the water front. But reminders of the storm still abound. The flood line is still visible on some of the historic buildings and every building that made it through the storm has a plaque that marks it, like the city itself, as a survivor.

If you want a fantastic book on this event, check out Erik Larson’s Isaac’s Storm.

William “Gooseneck Bill” McDonald

William McDonald from
History and Directory of Fort Worth, 1907 . [source]

Education
William Madison McDonald was born in College Mound, Texas in 1866 to newly freed parents. He worked for and studied law under a white family friend, Z. T. Adams while still in high school. When he graduated in 1884, Adams and some other family friends helped him attend Roger Williams University in Tennessee. He returned to Texas to become principal of the African American High School in Forney.

Politics
McDonald was involved in Republican politics and gained statewide prominence when he was elected to the Republican State Executive Committee in 1892. McDonald quickly became the leader of the “Black and Tan” faction, in which African Americans and supportive whites shared power. During this time, Dallas journalist, William Greene Sterett nicknamed McDonald “Gooseneck Bill,” a name he would carry for the rest of his public life. McDonald ran for chairman of the executive committee in 1898, but was defeated by another African American, Henry Clay Ferguson. Unfortunately infighting between the two men and their followers led to a decline in the power of African Americans in the Texas Republican Party and eventually the “Lily-White” faction took control. However, McDonald and other black Republicans continued to fight for power in the party.

The New Grand and Masonic Temple, which housed several of William McDonald’s business ventures. [source]

Business
Though he remained active in politics, McDonald turned his attention to business, at which he was wildly successful. McDonald was a member of the African American section of the Masons and was elected as Right Worshipful Grand Secretary in 1899, a major leadership position he would hold for the next 47 years. In 1906, he moved to Fort Worth to manage the Fraternal Bank and Trust Company, which had been founded by the Masons. McDonald grew the bank into a cornerstone of the African American community in Fort Worth, providing loans to African American entrepreneurs to encourage the growth of their businesses. Under McDonald’s management, the bank survived the Great Depression. In 2008, The Dallas Morning News reported that McDonald was “probably Texas’ first black millionaire.” McDonald also built the Jim Hotel, known as a venue for blues and jazz artists. Some of the greatest musicians of the era played there, including Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, B.B. King, and Billie Holiday.

Legacy
As he grew older, McDonald drifted away from the Republican party, more often voting and campaigning for candidates independently. He continued to contribute to local fraternal organizations. Though the buildings that housed his businesses have been torn down, his name remains part of the landscape of Fort Worth as a YMCA branch. McDonald passed away in 1950, after a full life of community and business, politics and activism.

The Record Low Temperature for the State of Texas

Texas is known for its mild weather, but it can get cold here, too. Just ask the residents of Tulia, Texas. They hold the record for the lowest temperature in the state: -23 degrees.

“This map shows the maximum (solid black lines), minimum (dashed black lines), and average (solid red lines) temperatures across the contiguous United States in February 1899.” Tulia, Texas is marked in red. By U.S. Weather Bureau, Public Domain, [source]

The Big Freeze
Founded on the Tule Ranch section of the J A Ranch in 1887, Tulia was renamed by a post office error. By 1899, Tulia was the county seat for Swisher County and the community included the courthouse, a school, a general store, and a church. February of 1899 saw a massive snowstorm across the Eastern US. Usually called the Great Blizzard of 1899, in Texas, it was just called the Big Freeze. Many of the record lows it brought still stand across the state, but in Tulia, a little town near Amarillo, the storm brought the lowest temperature that Texas has ever recorded. The temperature would be tied by Seminole, Texas in 1933.

Louis Franke

Politics, Immigration, and Politics Again
Ludwig Carl Ferdinand Francke was born in Germany in 1818. He was from a well off family and was able to further his education, eventually earning a degree in law. He was also involved in politics, which got him in trouble with the government and forced him to immigrate to America. He arrived in Texas in either 1845 or 1847 and his name was naturalized as Louis Franke. He served briefly as a Texas Ranger, before being lured to California by the promise of gold. He returned to Texas in 1850 and settled in Fayette County, where he worked as a teacher, as well as a professor for the local Baylor College, and raised a family. Franke and his wife, Berhardine Romberg, were heavily involved in their community, particularly in their Lutheran Church. In 1872, Franke was elected to the state legislature as a representative for Fayette and Bastrop Counties.

Louis Frankee, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Collection [source]

A Member of the House Murdered
On the night of Feburary 19th, 1873, at about 7:30pm, Louis Franke walked out of the old State Capitol. He was headed to the meeting of the Committee on Emigration, held in the nearby General Land Office Building. As he approached the steps, he was bashed over the head and thrown down the stairs. He was found shortly after and found to be missing his $264 paycheck, which he had picked up earlier in the day. Franke was conscious enough to say his name and that he was a member of the House. He was carried to his nearby boarding rooms and a doctor was called. In addition to his head wound, he had also broken his thigh. He passed away at 4 o’clock the next morning. His obituary read:

“The deceased was much respected and beloved for his kindly and generous qualities, both of head and heart. He had no enemies. Upright in all his dealings, genial in deportment, a good friend, a loving husband, a kind father and an exemplary Christian, he has passed away without a stain on his record, to that higher House”

–Dallas Herald, Vol. 20, No. 24, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 1, 1873, page 2

A joint committee of the legislature was appointed to investigate the murder. Though two suspicious men were seen around the Capitol earlier in the night, no one was ever prosecuted for the crime.

Elisabet Ney

By Friedrich Kaulbach – Thanks to Mrs. Fisch, Public Domain, [source]

Education and a Celebrated Career
Franzisca Bernadina Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ney was born in Münster, Westphalia, in what is today Germany, in 1833. Her father was a stonecutter and she grew up on tales of her sculptor ancestors. At 19, she announced her intent to move to Berlin and study sculpture. Her family was outraged. It was not considered proper for a girl to live by herself in a strange town or to study sculpture. Besides, art academies did not admit women. In retaliation, she went on a hunger strike. With a little help from the Bishop of Munster, she reached a compromise with her parents and headed to Munich. In 1854, Ney became the first woman to graduate from the Munich Art Academy and then headed to Berlin, to study with the celebrated Christian Daniel Rauch. In 1857, Ney set up her own studio and began a career as a celebrated portrait sculptor, sculpting busts of Otto von Bismark, Jacob Grimm, and King Ludwig II.

Liendo Plantation, 1934. Historic American Buildings Survey, James I. Campbell, Photographer March 10, 1934 VIEW OF FRONT FROM EAST. – Liendo, Farm Road 1488 and Wyatt Chapel Road Vicinity, Hempstead, HABS TEX,239-HEMP.V,1-3.tif [source]

Pause for Family
In 1863, Ney married Edmund Montgomery, a celebrated Scottish scientist. In 1871, when the Franco-Prussian was broke out, the couple immigrated to the United States, first to Georgia, then to Minnesota. In 1873, Ney traveled by herself to Texas, where she found Liendo Plantation and declared it home. Her family followed shortly after. Ney spent the next 20 years managing the plantation. By the late 1880s, Ney was calling Liendo Plantation a “lovely cursed retreat.” She had little artistic stimulation and little society, since her husband was quite happy to be a reclusive scientist. In 1891 Ney separated from her husband and went to Austin.

A Sculptor Again
In Austin, Ney built a studio she called Formosa and began taking commissions. However, she didn’t really see success until the Texas Legislature commissioned statues of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston and a grave memorial for Albert Sydney Johnson. Ney continued to sculpt and was active in the art scene of Austin until her death in 1907. In 1911, a group of Ney’s friends got together to preserve her studio and all the works therein, creating the Elisabet Ney Museum, which is still open to visitors today. Visitors to Washington, D.C. can also see a few of her works. Copies of her Austin and Houston statues represent Texas in the Statuary Hall at the National Capitol and her Lady Macbeth is on display in the National Museum of American Art.

Elisabet Ney in her Austin Studio, c. 1900. By Unknown – Stadtmuseum Münster, Public Domain, [source]

El Corrido de José Mosqueda

Lomax, John A, Ruby T Lomax, and José Suarez. El Corrido de José Mosqueda. Brownsville, Texas, 1939. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/lomaxbib000075/.

A Train Robbery
On January 19, 1891, José Mosqueda and a group of outlaws robbed the Rio Grande Railroad near Brownsville, Texas. They got away with about $75,000 in silver pesos along with some government mail. The general manager of the railroad, Simón Celaya, turned to the Brownsville City Marshall and Texas Ranger, Santiago Brito. Feuding with the local sheriff, Matthew L. Browne, Brito and his men did some solid detective work, interviewing witnesses and tracking clues to find the men who had robbed the train. Though Brito refused to hand the men over to Browne, the only nearby jail was in Brownsville, landing the men in Browne’s jurisdiction. Mosqueda was sentenced to life in prison and one co-conspirator was sentenced to 10 years. Very little of the money was ever recovered. Both Browne and Brito were shot within the next two years, while Mosqueda and his co-conspirator died in jail.

A Story for the Ages
However, the story doesn’t end there. Only a few years later, a new corrido, or folk song ballad, appeared commemorating the incident. Though the song originally celebrated Brito’s capture of the Mosqueda gang, over the next 50 years the song morphed. Mosqueda and his men became folk heroes who distributed the silver they had stolen among the poor of the Rio Grande Valley, while Brito became a cowardly lawman who fled from an encounter with Mosqueda and his men. Some claim that Mosqueda also buried the silver along the river and that some of it is still waiting to be found.

The version of “El Corrido de José Mosqueda” at the top was recorded in 1939 as sung by José Suarez, a folk singer, but has also been recorded as recently as the 1990s by Oscar Chavez, a noted Mexican singer.

Walter Moses Burton

Walter Moses Burton, c. 1876, 15th Legislature composite [source]

Walter Moses Burton was brought to Texas as a slave in 1850. Unlike many slaves, Burton was educated by his owners, the Burton family. After the Civil War, they sold him a large plot of land, making Burton one of the most influential African-Americans in Fort Bend County. In 1869, Burton was elected sheriff and tax collector of Fort Bend County, which made him one of the earliest – if not the earliest – black sheriff in the country. In 1873, Burton won a seat in the Texas Senate, though the election was contested and wouldn’t be confirmed until February of 1874. He would serve until 1882.

Burton focused on rights for newly freed African-Americans, particularly opportunities for education. He championed the bill calling for the establishment of Prairie View Normal School (today Prairie View A&M). He also sponsored a bill providing land grants to surviving veterans of the Texas Revolution. Upon his retirement from the Senate, he was given an ebony and gold cane. Burton continued to participate in state and local politics until his death in 1913.