Chapter 13 Pioneer Life
Cornell Notes
Section 1: Population Growth
The Republic
Attracts
Immigrants
Rapid Growth:
From the decade between the Battle of San Jacinto to
Texas Statehood, the population TRIPLED
Anglo
And Tejanos
In 1836: Approx – 35,000
In 1846: Approx – 125,000
Slaves – 5,000
Slaves – 38,000
Homestead Act
Passed in 1839: Protected a family’s home, tools, and 50 acres of
land from seizure for nonpayment of debts
Section 1: Population Growth
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Agent
Number of Area
Settlers
Settled
W.S. Peters
2,000 families (came
from Missouri,
Tennessee and Illinois
South of present- day
Dallas
Henri Castro
2,000 colonists from
France, Germany and
Switzerland
SouthwestTexas,
estab. Castroville on
the Medina River
west of San Antonio
Adelsverein (German 7,000 Germans
Emigration Company)
North of San Antonio
Section 1: Population Growth
Immigrant
Agents Bring
Settlers
Congress granted contracts to immigrant agents: people who
were paid in land or money to relocate settlers to an area-to bring
colonist to Texas
Agents would receive 10 sections of land for every 100 families
German
Nobles
3 Most Successful:
W.S. Peters and Associates
Henri Castro
German Emigration Company
German Emigration – Adelsverein
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels and John O. Meusebach
• Established Several Towns (New Braunfels and Fredericksburg)
•7,000 new immigrants by 1847
Section 1: Population Growth
Slavery
Continues in
Texas
-One in every four families had at least one slave
By mid 1840s – slaves made up 30% of population
-Harrison, Brazoria, Montgomery, Bowie, Nacogdoches,
San Augustine, Washington, Red River Counties had
largest number of enslaved people
Section 2: Texans on Farms & Ranches
Texas Life
Centers Around Most Texans farmed or raised livestock
Farming
Two main types of crops
1.) Cash Crop – crops used to raise money to purchase items that
could not be made themselves
2.) Subsistence Crop – Food products eaten on the farm where they
are grown
Uses for Cotton (Cash Crop)
Uses for Corn (Subsistence
Crop)
export
Food for the people
Use to make cotton cloth
Food for animals
Sell to textile companies
Saved seeds for planting
Section 2: Texans on Farms & Ranches
Men and
Women’s role
on the farms
•Both men and women worked hard
on Texas farms
•Women usually took care of the
animals and gardens and worked long
hours preparing the food and making
clothes
•Women would also clear land, cut
wood, build fences, and even picked
cotton.
Section 3: Commerce and Transportation
Trades and
Professions
•Texans began making living from job trades such as blacksmiths,
carpenters, doctors, and TEACHING!!! 
John S. “Rip” Smith – famous Texas Ranger who was also a physician, lawyer,
politician
Industry and
Commerce Fuel Most major industries were located in towns or along major roads or rivers
Growth
(brickyards, tanneries, cotton gins, textile mills, ect…)
Better
Roads were poorly built
Transportation •Native American roads or originally built in Spanish and Mexican era
Is Needed
•Roads were unpaved, and rain made roads muddy
Section 3: Commerce and Transportation
Stagecoaches
And
Steamboats
Stagecoaches
•Stagecoaches become popular but expensive!
•From San Antonio to San Diego it would cost about $200
Steamboats
•Steamboats operated on Texas’s major rivers
•While steamboats were comfortable and cheap, passengers would often run
into sandbars and driftwood
Telegraph and
Newspaper
First telegraph connected Houston to Galveston
Texas and Red River telegraph was chartered (or established by a state
contract) in Jan 1854
Telegraph and Texas Register- the most influential of the early newspapers,
originally from San Felipe, later moved to Houston
Section 3: Commerce and Transportation
Social Life
Fiesta
- a festival or religious celebration, that was part of the Hispanic
culture and an important part of life for everyone
Included dancing, games, exhibitions of art, and many food and
drinks
Formal
Education
Religious
Diversity
Flourishes
Texas had many private schools, but only Houston at the time had a
public school
- Governor Elisha Pease set aside 2 million dollars in 1854 as a
permanent school find.
- Colleges like Baylor University were founded by churches
Since Mexico no longer controlled Texas, Texans were not required
to be Roman Catholic
- Protestant churches such as Methodists, Presbyterian, and Baptist
grew in popularity