1828 - 1881 (Bulk: 1836 - 1849)

Manuscript Collection: MC055

Size: 1.4 linear feet

Boxes: 4

OCLC No: 50136914

Acquisition: Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hill, Jr., Houston Public Library, Annie Hume, 1939 - 1940

Restrictions on Access: None

Terms Governing Use: Open for research by appointment.

Processed by: Sandra Eileen Yates, 2002.

Publication Rights: Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jacinto Museum of History. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Jacinto Museum of History as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Citation: [Identification of Item], Andrew Briscoe Papers, MC055, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.

Creator Sketch:

Andrew Briscoe was born on November 25, 1810, in Claiborne County, Mississippi, to General Parmenas Briscoe and Polly Montgomery. He moved to Texas in 1833 and in 1835 established a store in Anahuac. He was arrested with DeWitt Clinton Harris for attempting to sell goods without paying customs duties. The incident and the resulting protests sparked the Texas Revolution. Although an elected delegate to the convention of 1835 and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Briscoe left on March 17 and rejoined the army under orders from Thomas J. Rusk. As captain he led the Liberty Volunteers at the battle of Concepcíon, and Company A, Infantry Regulars at the Battle of San Jacinto.

After the Revolution, Briscoe was appointed chief justice of Harrisburg by President Sam Houston and served until 1839. He then became involved in raising cattle and business ventures in the town of Harrisburg. He was agent for the Harrisburg Town Company and owner of the Harrisburg and Brazos Railroad. The Harrisburg Railroad & Trading Company assumed the Harrisburg and Brazos Railroad and was chartered in 1841. After grading 2 miles of track, the enterprise failed. In 1849 Briscoe moved his family to New Orleans where he engaged in banking. He died of yellow fever on October 4, 1849.

Andrew Briscoe married Elizabeth House and had a daughter, Elizabeth Zara ca. 1833. His daughter lived with her grandfather, General Parmenas Briscoe, and attended various boarding schools. Elizabeth Zara died of typhoid in 1848 in Kentucky. In 1837, Andrew married Mary Jane Harris, the "Belle of Buffalo Bayou" and daughter of John R. Harris, founder of Harrisburg, and Jane Birdsall Harris. They had five children, four of whom survived into adulthood: Parmenas (1839 – 1906), Andrew Birdsall (1841 – 1912), Jessie Wade (1845 – 1920), and Adele Lubbock (1848 – 1935).

Bibliography:

"BRISCOE, ANDREW." The Handbook of Texas Online.

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/BB/fbr58.html

Scope and Content Note:

Correspondence, financial and legal documents, printed materials, and business records illuminate the personal life, military career, and business ventures of little known Texas settler and soldier, Andrew Briscoe.

Archivist’s Note:

Other related papers from the Adele Briscoe Looscan Collection include the Mary Jane Harris Briscoe Papers, the Briscoe Family Papers, the John R. and Jane Harris Papers, the John Birdsall Papers, the DeWitt Clinton Harris Papers, the Harris Family Papers, and the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers. All photographs are located in the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers.

Manuscript Collection: MC055

Size: 3.5 linear feet

Boxes: 04

Correspondence: 1828 - 1849

Size: .7 linear feet

Boxes: 2

One hundred three letters from members of the Briscoe, Harris and Birdsall families (1828-1849) deal with family affairs and business ventures. Five letters from Elizabeth Zara Briscoe, Andrew’s daughter, document a loving relationship with an absent parent and contain family news of deaths and marriages along with reports of her studies and future plans. Of particular interest are the letters to Briscoe concerning military plans and movements. A November 6, 1835, letter from Stephen F. Austin concerns Mexican army movements and directs Briscoe to gather intelligence. Two letters (March 17, 1836) from Thomas J. Rusk, Secretary of War, order Briscoe into service and direct him to organize a company of rangers or spies to gather information about enemy movements. Five letters from James Morgan to Briscoe written in 1836-1837, discuss military plans and conditions prior to the Battle of San Jacinto and after the Mexican surrender. A letter dated 24 March 1836 written in haste by Morgan concerns sending 7 men to Briscoe and a Negro insurrection on the Trinity River. Letters from business firms concern receipt of payments, shipment of merchandise, land deals, the election of 1841, and letters of introduction.

The correspondence sent subseries reveals Briscoe’s thoughts and plans. A 24 January 1834 letter written to the Allen brothers in Navasota concerns Briscoe’s plans to investigate trading slaves in Texas. A letter to Sam Houston by Briscoe as executor of Judge John Birdsall’s estate concerns the disposition of the property held by Houston & Birdsall. Briscoe assumes Houston will give it all to the estate as "all the business got [was] by Judge B. and all the labor done by him." A letter written to his brother James by Briscoe in January 1849 explains his intentions in writing his will and asks his brother to follow them. He also alludes to his plans to emigrate to California, leaving his wife and children in Texas. Third party correspondence contains some letters sent in care of Andrew Briscoe.

Series: Correspondence: Received

Series: Correspondence: Sent

Size: .2 linear feet

Boxes: n/a

Accounts payable and receivable, bills of lading, banking records, promissory notes, receipts, and store inventories record Andrew Briscoe’s personal and business financial transactions. Fourteen bills of lading, 12 of which are from 1835-1839, list merchandise imported by Briscoe into Texas prior to and after the fight for independence. Six records including a 57 page cattle book (1841-1848) detail the cattle business during the Republic of Texas. Rent receipts and banking records document Briscoe’s final months in New Orleans.

Legal: 1835 – 1849

Size: .2 linear feet

Boxes: 1

Affidavits, bills of sale, contracts, deeds, insurance policies, petitions, and powers of attorney document Briscoe’s personal and business legal lives along with his service as Supreme Court justice. Six bills of sale document the buying of slaves by Briscoe (1838-1840). Certificates of purchase record the venture of Thomas Jefferson Chambers in promoting his town of Chambersia. Ballots, certifications, notices and returns document the electoral process in Harris County 1842-1846. Probate documents (1841-1842) reveal Briscoe’s work as executor of John Birdsall’s estate. A copy of Briscoe’s will details his plans for his wife and children in the event of his death.

General: 1836 – 1849

Size: .9 items

Boxes: 1

Printed materials, locks of hair, and lists further reveal Andrew Briscoe’s life. Briscoe’s 1836 commission as Chief Justice of the county of Harrisburg is signed by Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. An October 2, 1835, broadside, Freedmen of Texas To Arms!!! To Arms!!! urges Texians to gather at Gonzales to fight the Mexican army. Three circulars and a newspaper clipping concern business opportunities. Locks of hair are from Elizabeth and "Father" Briscoe. A list records the names of the men under Briscoe’s command at the Battle of San Jacinto. Mathematical and philosophical instruments and books are valued and listed for sale.

Estate of Andrew Briscoe: 1849 - 1854

Size: .1 linear feet

Boxes: n/a

The Estate of Andrew Briscoe consists primarily of correspondence (1849-1852) between Thomas Carothers, Edward Hall, and James M. Briscoe, concerning the sale of land owned jointly by Andrew Briscoe and Hall near the headwaters of the San Jacinto River, Carothers acting as their agent. An 1850 inventory lists the property owned by Andrew Briscoe at the time of his death. Two leases (1881) show the disposition of property in Hamilton County.

Harrisburg & Brazos Railroad: 1839 - 1841

Size: . 05 linear feet

Boxes: n/a

Financial and legal documents, reports to stockholders, and general papers, chronicle the history of the Harrisburg & Brazos Railroad. Account statements (4) and receipts (12) detail payments to workers and for supplies, and five timber agreements show other expenses of constructing the railroad. "An Act to Incorporate the Harrisburg Rail Road and Trading Company," January 9, 1841, is signed by David G. Burnett. Two reports to stockholders are dated March 18, 1840.

Harrisburg Town Company: 1839 - 1850

Size: 1.5 linear feet

Boxes: 1

Correspondence, financial and legal documents, printed materials, a surveyor’s field notes and a map document the Harrisburg Town Company from 1839 to 1849. Minutes of the board of directors show the workings of the company. An 1845 note from the board of directors gives permission to contract with Sidney Sherman for a six-month period to purchase the remaining unsold land in Harrisburg. Financial documents include accounts payable, receipts, and an agent’s report by Andrew Briscoe that details the preparation of a map of Harrisburg, the building of a brick yard, facilities required in building a town, and an estimate of expenses for the Harrisburg Town Company. Legal documents include certificates of purchase by DeWitt Clinton Harris [13], Lewis B. Harris [3], Robert Wilson [8], Alexander Farmer [1], Sally Moore and Francis Moore [2], Stephen Richardson [1], Magnus T. Rodgers [2], and Edward Smith [2]. A power of attorney appoints Andrew Briscoe agent for John W. Moore, John Birdsall, and David G. Burnett. Printed materials are stock certificates in the Harrisburg Town Company owned by Mary Jane Briscoe, William P. Harris, and Francis Moore. The map is a plat of the Harris Tract.