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{{Short description|American diplomat (1786–1865)}}
{{Lead too short|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_prefix =
Line 9: Line 11:
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = July 1786
| birth_date = July 1786
| birth_place = [[Bayonne]], [[France]]
| birth_place = [[Bayonne]], [[Kingdom of France|France]]
| death_date = November 3, 1865 (aged 79)
| death_date = November 3, 1865 (aged 79)
| death_place =[[Monterrey]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Mexico]]
| death_place = [[Monterrey]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Mexico]]
| death_cause =
| death_cause =
| resting_place = St. Louis Cemetery<br>[[Castroville, Texas]]
| resting_place = St. Louis Cemetery<br>[[Castroville, Texas]]
| monuments =
| monuments =
| residence =
| nationality =
| nationality =
| ethnicity = [[Jews|Jewish]], [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]
| citizenship =
| citizenship =
| education =
| education =
Line 23: Line 23:
| occupation =
| occupation =
| known_for = [[Empresario]] colonization of [[Republic of Texas]]
| known_for = [[Empresario]] colonization of [[Republic of Texas]]
| religion =[[Judaism|Jewish]]
| spouse = Amelia Mathias
| denomination =
| spouse =Amelia Mathias
| children =
| children =
| parents =
| parents =
}}
}}
'''Henri Castro''' (1786 – November 3, 1865), a [[Jewish Texan]], was one of the most important [[empresario]]s of the [[Republic of Texas]].
'''Henri Castro''' (born Moïse Henriques de Castro,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/922700444|title=The Jews and the expansion of Europe to the west, 1450 to 1800|others=Bernardini, Paolo, 1963-, Fiering, Norman|date=March 2001|isbn=1-78238-976-8|location=New York|pages=263|oclc=922700444}}</ref> July 17, 1786 – November 3, 1865), was a French diplomat who was one of the most important [[empresario]]s of the [[Republic of Texas]].


==Early life==
==Early life==
⚫
Castro, who was born in [[Bayonne]], [[France]], was a [[French people|French]] [[diplomat]] of [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]-[[Jew]]ish descent. He later immigrated to the United States and became an [[American citizen]] in 1827. In 1838, he worked as a banker in France and sought to secure a loan for the young Republic of Texas. He was then appointed as [[consul general]] for Texas by President [[Sam Houston]]. He recruited hundreds of families for [[emigration]] to Texas. Most came primarily from the [[Haut-Rhin]] department of [[Alsace]] in eastern France. They traveled to Texas from 1843 to 1847 and settled in the [[Medina River]] valley, just west of [[San Antonio]]. The city of [[Castroville, Texas|Castroville]] on the Medina River is named for him, as is [[Castro County, Texas|Castro County]] in the [[Texas Panhandle]]. Castro himself settled for a time in Castroville.

⚫
Castro, who was born in [[Bayonne]], [[France]], was a [[French people|French]] [[diplomat]] of [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]-[[Jew]]ish descent. He later immigrated to the United States and became an [[American citizen]] in 1827. In 1838, he worked as a banker in France and sought to secure a loan for the young Republic of Texas. He was then appointed as [[consul general]] for Texas by President [[Sam Houston]]. He recruited hundreds of families for [[emigration]] to Texas. Most came primarily from the [[Haut-Rhin]] region of [[Alsace]], in northeastern France. They traveled to Texas from 1843 to 1847 and settled in the [[Medina River]] valley, just west of [[San Antonio]]. The city of [[Castroville, Texas|Castroville]] on the Medina River is named for him, as is [[Castro County, Texas|Castro County]] in the [[Texas Panhandle]]. Castro himself settled for a time in Castroville.


==Republic of Texas land grants==
==Republic of Texas land grants==
⚫
The [[Republic of Texas]] issued colonization [[land grant]]s with individuals, conditional upon said individuals establishing settlements in a stated geographical area of Texas. The grants were limited to a given period in which colonization had to take place.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lang|first=Aldon S|title=Land Grants|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mpl01|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=20 February 2011|author2=Long, Christopher}}</ref>


⚫
On February 15, 1842, Castro, in temporary partnership with Jean Jassaud, was issued two land grants by the Republic of Texas. The grants were for colonizing 600 families (with an option to increase that number to 1000) in three years. The first 200 families had to be settled by August 15, 1843.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ahr|first=Wayne M|title=The French in Texas: History, Migration, Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/frenchtexashisto00laga|url-access=limited|year=2003|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-70528-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/frenchtexashisto00laga/page/n142 128]–141|author2=Lagarde, Francois|chapter=Henri Castro and Castroville}}</ref> One grant was about 600,000 acres, near what is now [[Starr County, Texas|Starr County]], along the [[Rio Grande]]. Castro did not fulfill the colonization of this grant. The other grant totaled 1,250,000 acres west of San Antonio. It included the counties of [[Atascosa County, Texas|Atascosa]], [[Frio County, Texas|Frio]], [[La Salle County, Texas|La Salle]], [[Medina County, Texas|Medina]], and [[McMullen County, Texas|McMullen]]. This second grant came to be known as Castro's Colony.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bishop|first=Curtis|title=Castro's Colony|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/uec01|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref>
⚫
The [[Republic of Texas]] issued colonization [[land grant]]s with individuals, conditional upon said individuals establishing settlements in a stated geographical area of Texas. The grants were limited to a given time period in which colonization had to take place.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lang|first=Aldon S|title=Land Grants|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mpl01|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=20 February 2011|author2=Long, Christopher}}</ref>


⚫
Castro began recruiting from an office in [[Paris]] in 1842, and the first of his recruits sailed into the port of [[Galveston, Texas]], on January 1, 1843. In the fall of 1843, Castro found recruits in Alsace, [[Baden]], and [[Switzerland]]. Waves of his colonists departed for Texas in the winter of 1843 and spring of 1844. Castro left Europe for Texas on May 19, 1844, through [[New Orleans]]. He made it to San Antonio in July 1844 to meet with the colonists and was escorted by the [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] to inspect his land grant. The first of Castro's colonists arrived at the land on September 2, 1844.<ref name=wolff>{{cite book|last=Wolff|first=Linda|title=Indianola and Matagorda Bay 1837 - 1887|year=1999|publisher=Eakin Press|location=Austin, Texas|isbn=1-57168-340-2|pages=6–12}}</ref>
⚫
On February 10'''Bold text'''5, 1842, Castro, in temporary partnership with Jean Jassaud, was issued two land grants by the Republic of Texas. The grants were for the colonization of 600 families (with an option to increase that number to 1000) in three years. The first 200 families had to be settled by August 15, 1843.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ahr|first=Wayne M|title=The French in Texas: History, Migration, Culture|year=2003|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-70528-9|pages=128–141|author2=Lagarde, Francois|chapter=Henri Castro and Castroville}}</ref> One grant was approximately 600,000 acres, near what is now [[Starr County, Texas|Starr County]], along the [[Rio Grande]]. Castro would not be seen fulfilling the colonization of this grant. The other grant totaled 1,250,000 acres, west of San Antonio and included the counties of [[Atascosa County, Texas|Atascosa]], [[Frio County, Texas|Frio]], [[La Salle County, Texas|La Salle]], [[Medina County, Texas|Medina]], and [[McMullen County, Texas|McMullen]]. This second grant would result in what came to be known as Castro's Colony.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bishop|first=Curtis|title=Castro's Colony|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/uec01|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=20 February 2011}}</ref>


⚫
A grant covering 3,878,000 acres over 5,000 square miles went to [[Henry Francis Fisher]] and [[Burchard Miller]]. On June 7, 1842, Fisher<ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Henry Francis Fisher|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffi17|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref> and Miller<ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Burchard Miller|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi12|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref> received a colonization land grant to settle 1,000 immigrant families of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry. The grant was issued as the [[Fisher–Miller Land Grant]]. Fisher and Miller were also unsuccessful in colonization efforts, but they were able to get their deadline extended. On June 26, 1844, they sold the grant to the [[Adelsverein]]. Henry Fisher was made part of the Verein colonial committee.{{further|Fisher–Miller Land Grant}}
⚫
Castro began recruiting from an office in [[Paris]] in 1842 and the first of his recruits sailed into the port of [[Galveston, Texas]], on January 1, 1843. In the fall of 1843, Castro recruits in Alsace, [[Baden]], and [[Switzerland]]. Waves of his colonists departed for Texas in the winter of 1843 and spring of 1844. Castro left [[Europe]] for Texas on May 19, 1844, by way of [[New Orleans]]. He made it to San Antonio in July 1844 to meet with the colonists and was escorted by the [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] to inspect his land grant. The first of Castro's colonists arrived at the land on September 2, 1844.<ref name=wolff>{{cite book|last=Wolff|first=Linda|title=Indianola and Matagorda Bay 1837 - 1887|year=1999|publisher=Eakin Press|location=Austin, Texas|isbn=1-57168-340-2|pages=6–12}}</ref>


A grant covering peanut butter 3,878,000 acres over 5,000 square miles, went to [[Henry Francis Fisher]] and [[Burchard Miller]]. On June 7, 1842, Fisher<ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Henry Francis Fisher|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffi17|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=20 February 2011}}</ref> and Miller<ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Burchard Miller|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi12|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=20 February 2011}}</ref> received a colonization land grant to settle 1,000 immigrant families of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry. The grant was issued as the [[Fisher-Miller Land Grant]]. Fisher and Miller were also unsuccessful in colonization efforts, but they were able to get their deadline extended. On June 26, 1844, they sold the grant to the [[Adelsverein]]. Henry Fisher was made part of the Verein colonial committee.{{details|Fisher-Miller Land Grant}}
On July 3 and July 6, 1842, two land grants were issued to Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne and Armand Ducos for the colonization of 1,700 families along the Uvalde, Frio, and Medina Rivers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Armand Ducos|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fdu04|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbo37|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=20 February 2011}}</ref> On April 7, 1844, after their colonization efforts proved fruitless, Bourgeois and Ducos sold their grant to the Adelsverein, conditional on making Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne the colonial director. Unfortunately, the grant had already expired, and Bourgeois could not extend the deadline for colonization.


⚫
==References==
⚫
On July 3 and July 6, 1842, two land grants were issued to Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne and Armand Ducos, for colonization of 1,700 families along the Uvalde, Frio and Medina rivers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Armand Ducos|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fdu04|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=20 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Biesele|first=Rudolph L|title=Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbo37|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=20 February 2011}}</ref> On April 7, 1844, after their colonization efforts proved fruitless, Bourgeois and Ducos sold their grant to the [[Adelsverein]], conditional on making Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne the Colonial Director. Unfortunately, the grant had already expired and Bourgeois was unable to get the deadline for colonization extended.
⚫
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}


==Additional sourcing==
==Further reading==
*Crook, Cornelia English (1988). ''Henry Castro: A Study of Early Colonization in Texas''. St. Mary's University Press, San Antonio, Texas. {{ISBN|0-945-63201-0}}.
*Morgenthaler, Jefferson (2009). ''Promised Land: Solms, Castro, and Sam Houston's colonization contracts.'' TAMU Press. {{ISBN|978-1-60344-119-3}}.
*Waugh, Julia Nott (repr. 2010). ''Castro-Ville and Henry Castro Empresario.'' Castro Colonies Heritage Association facsimile of first edition, 1934.
*{{cite book|last=Weaver PhD|first=Bobby D|title=Castro's Colony: Empresario Development in Texas, 1842-1865|year=2006|publisher=TAMU Press|isbn=978-1-58544-518-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Weaver PhD|first=Bobby D|title=Castro's Colony: Empresario Development in Texas, 1842-1865|year=2006|publisher=TAMU Press|isbn=978-1-58544-518-9}}

⚫
==References==
⚫
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Find a Grave|7069740}}
*{{Find a Grave|7069740}}
*[http://www.jacastrolaw.com/Files/My_Plan_for_Laredo.pdf Chapter 4: A History of the Castro Family] from [http://www.jacastrolaw.com/Files/My_Plan_for_Laredo.pdf My Plan for Laredo] by John Anthony Castro published 2005.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713072101/http://www.jacastrolaw.com/Files/My_Plan_For_Laredo.pdf Chapter 4: A History of the Castro Family] from [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713072101/http://www.jacastrolaw.com/Files/My_Plan_For_Laredo.pdf My Plan for Laredo] by [[John Anthony Castro]] published 2005.
{{Republic of Texas}}
{{Republic of Texas}}
⚫
{{Authority control}}


⚫
{{Authority control|VIAF=70337166}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Castro, Henri
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American diplomat
| DATE OF BIRTH = July 17, 1786
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Landes (department)|Landes]], [[France]]
| DATE OF DEATH = November 3, 1865
| PLACE OF DEATH = Monterrey, Nuevo León
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Henri}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Henri}}
[[Category:1786 births]]
[[Category:1786 births]]
Line 76: Line 66:
[[Category:French diplomats]]
[[Category:French diplomats]]
[[Category:French emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:French emigrants to the United States]]
⚫
[[Category:Sephardi Jews]]
[[Category:Spanish and Portuguese Jews]]
⚫
[[Category:French Jews]]
[[Category:French people of Portuguese-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:French people of Portuguese-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Texas]]
[[Category:19th-century French Sephardi Jews]]
[[Category:People from Bayonne]]
[[Category:People from Bayonne]]
⚫
[[Category:Castro County, Texas]]
⚫
[[Category:Jews from Texas]]

Latest revision as of 14:17, 19 November 2024

Henri Castro
BornJuly 1786
Bayonne, France
DiedNovember 3, 1865 (aged 79)
Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Resting placeSt. Louis Cemetery
Castroville, Texas
Known forEmpresario colonization of Republic of Texas
SpouseAmelia Mathias

Henri Castro (born Moïse Henriques de Castro,[1] July 17, 1786 – November 3, 1865), was a French diplomat who was one of the most important empresarios of the Republic of Texas.

Early life

[edit]

Castro, who was born in Bayonne, France, was a French diplomat of Portuguese-Jewish descent. He later immigrated to the United States and became an American citizen in 1827. In 1838, he worked as a banker in France and sought to secure a loan for the young Republic of Texas. He was then appointed as consul general for Texas by President Sam Houston. He recruited hundreds of families for emigration to Texas. Most came primarily from the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in eastern France. They traveled to Texas from 1843 to 1847 and settled in the Medina River valley, just west of San Antonio. The city of Castroville on the Medina River is named for him, as is Castro County in the Texas Panhandle. Castro himself settled for a time in Castroville.

Republic of Texas land grants

[edit]

The Republic of Texas issued colonization land grants with individuals, conditional upon said individuals establishing settlements in a stated geographical area of Texas. The grants were limited to a given period in which colonization had to take place.[2]

On February 15, 1842, Castro, in temporary partnership with Jean Jassaud, was issued two land grants by the Republic of Texas. The grants were for colonizing 600 families (with an option to increase that number to 1000) in three years. The first 200 families had to be settled by August 15, 1843.[3] One grant was about 600,000 acres, near what is now Starr County, along the Rio Grande. Castro did not fulfill the colonization of this grant. The other grant totaled 1,250,000 acres west of San Antonio. It included the counties of Atascosa, Frio, La Salle, Medina, and McMullen. This second grant came to be known as Castro's Colony.[4]

Castro began recruiting from an office in Paris in 1842, and the first of his recruits sailed into the port of Galveston, Texas, on January 1, 1843. In the fall of 1843, Castro found recruits in Alsace, Baden, and Switzerland. Waves of his colonists departed for Texas in the winter of 1843 and spring of 1844. Castro left Europe for Texas on May 19, 1844, through New Orleans. He made it to San Antonio in July 1844 to meet with the colonists and was escorted by the Texas Rangers to inspect his land grant. The first of Castro's colonists arrived at the land on September 2, 1844.[5]

A grant covering 3,878,000 acres over 5,000 square miles went to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller. On June 7, 1842, Fisher[6] and Miller[7] received a colonization land grant to settle 1,000 immigrant families of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry. The grant was issued as the Fisher–Miller Land Grant. Fisher and Miller were also unsuccessful in colonization efforts, but they were able to get their deadline extended. On June 26, 1844, they sold the grant to the Adelsverein. Henry Fisher was made part of the Verein colonial committee.

Further information: Fisher–Miller Land Grant

On July 3 and July 6, 1842, two land grants were issued to Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne and Armand Ducos for the colonization of 1,700 families along the Uvalde, Frio, and Medina Rivers.[8][9] On April 7, 1844, after their colonization efforts proved fruitless, Bourgeois and Ducos sold their grant to the Adelsverein, conditional on making Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne the colonial director. Unfortunately, the grant had already expired, and Bourgeois could not extend the deadline for colonization.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ The Jews and the expansion of Europe to the west, 1450 to 1800. Bernardini, Paolo, 1963-, Fiering, Norman. New York. March 2001. p. 263. ISBN 1-78238-976-8. OCLC 922700444.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ Lang, Aldon S; Long, Christopher. "Land Grants". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  3. ^ Ahr, Wayne M; Lagarde, Francois (2003). "Henri Castro and Castroville". The French in Texas: History, Migration, Culture. University of Texas Press. pp. 128–141. ISBN 978-0-292-70528-9.
  4. ^ Bishop, Curtis. "Castro's Colony". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  5. ^ Wolff, Linda (1999). Indianola and Matagorda Bay 1837 - 1887. Austin, Texas: Eakin Press. pp. 6–12. ISBN 1-57168-340-2.
  6. ^ Biesele, Rudolph L. "Henry Francis Fisher". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  7. ^ Biesele, Rudolph L. "Burchard Miller". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  8. ^ Biesele, Rudolph L. "Armand Ducos". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  9. ^ Biesele, Rudolph L. "Alexander Bourgeois d'Orvanne". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 February 2011.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Crook, Cornelia English (1988). Henry Castro: A Study of Early Colonization in Texas. St. Mary's University Press, San Antonio, Texas. ISBN 0-945-63201-0.
  • Morgenthaler, Jefferson (2009). Promised Land: Solms, Castro, and Sam Houston's colonization contracts. TAMU Press. ISBN 978-1-60344-119-3.
  • Waugh, Julia Nott (repr. 2010). Castro-Ville and Henry Castro Empresario. Castro Colonies Heritage Association facsimile of first edition, 1934.
  • Weaver PhD, Bobby D (2006). Castro's Colony: Empresario Development in Texas, 1842-1865. TAMU Press. ISBN 978-1-58544-518-9.
[edit]
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