Indian Agent: Peter Ellis Bean in Mexican Texas

441 Pages·2005·8.14 MB·English

by  Jack Jackson

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INDIAN AGENT
Number Six:
Canseco-Keck History Series
Jerry Thompson, General Editor
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Peter Ellis Bean, ca. 1815–17. Photo courtesy Robert E. Davis.
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i n di a n
ag e n t
Peter Ellis Bean in Mexican Texas
JACK JACKSON
Texas A&M University Press
College Station
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Copyright © 2005 by Jack Jackson
Manufactured in the United States of America
All rights reserved
First edition
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, z39.48-1984.
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
(cid:2)(cid:3)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jackson, Jack, 1941–
Indian agent : Peter Ellis Bean in Mexican Texas / Jack Jackson. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Canseco-Keck history series ; no. 6)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn1-58544-444-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Bean, Peter Ellis, 1783–1846. 2. Indian agents—Texas—Biography. 3. Indians
of North America—Texas—Government relations. 4. Texas—History—To 1846.
I. Title. II.Series.
e78.t4j33 2005
976.4(cid:2)03(cid:2)092—dc22
2005000439
No copy or reproduction of the portrait of Peter Ellis Bean is allowed without the
written permission of the owner of the original painting. Contact the author for further
information.
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To Mrs. Leona Bean Hicks, whose side of the family preserved
and brought down to us the original portrait of Colonel Bean
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 3
Chapter 1. Bean’s Early Years 6
Chapter 2. Ten Years a Prisoner 13
Chapter 3. Back to Mexico 32
Chapter 4. Questionable Marriage Status 53
Chapter 5. The Fredonian Rebellion 61
Chapter 6. Aftermath of Rebellion 77
Chapter 7. A Multitude of Indians 88
Chapter 8. Terán Visits Texas 110
Chapter 9. Colonization Shuts Down 137
Chapter 10. Brief Interlude at Fort Terán 155
Chapter 11. The Reign of Piedras Ends 162
Chapter 12. Land Affairs Foremost 170
Chapter 13. Almonte’s 1834 Inspection 187
Chapter 14. Storm Clouds Gather 194
Chapter 15. The Texas Revolution 215
Chapter 16. Indian Alarm in East Texas 227
Chapter 17. Old Sam Jacinto’s “Big Ranch” 242
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Chapter 18. Alien Citizen of the Republic 259
Chapter 19. Thoughts of Mexico 281
Chapter 20. The Legal Whirlwind 291
Chapter 21. Bean and the Historians 300
Epilogue 315
Appendices
A. Certifications of Bean’s Military Service during the
Mexican Revolution 321
B. Bean to Guadalupe Victoria 328
C. Bean to Compensation Board [?] 330
D. Certification of Bean’s Military Service to Mexico 331
E. Bean to Lewis Cass 333
F. Bean to Andrew Jackson 335
Abbreviations 337
Notes 339
Bibliography 403
Index 415
[viii] Contents
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Illustrations
Portrait of Philip Nolan 11
Portrait of José María Morelos 20
Portrait of Guadalupe Victoria 44
Watercolor portrait of Bean 95
Yoakum’s portrait of Bean 105
Thrall’s portrait of Bean 122
Page with Bean’s signature 140
Painting by Bean’s great-grandson 147
Portrait of James Bowie 160
Photo of Sam Houston 212
Photo of Isaac Bean, the colonel’s eldest son 294
Photo of Isaac’s wife, Nancy Boone 295
Photo of Candace Bean’s marker and grave 316
Maps
TGLO map of Bean’s original grant 84
Galli map of Texas, 1826 111
Map showing Fort Terán, ca. 1834 156
TGLO map of Bean’s Saline League 185
Jackson map of east Texas and Bean’s grants 254