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Visiting History: James Stephen's Texas Land Grant

Last month, the Hubs and I took a camping trip in south central Texas. We stayed in LaGrange and that put us just a short drive to where his fourth great-grandfather owned land back in the 1830s. Field trip time! James Stephen (abt. 1795-1857) received a Spanish land grant in 1831 after settling in the area in 1829. He was granted a league of land ( 4,428.4 acres),  on the Caney Creek in Washington County by the Coahuila y Tejas government on 8 March 1831. 1   James Stevens (sic) land shown on a 1976 map. 2 At the time of Stephen's settlement, witness Samuel M. Williams, swore that Stephen was, "...married and a man of very good habits, much honesty and industriousness." 3 This endorsement met all the criteria of Stephen F. Austin's conditions for settlers, demonstrating that Stephen had "the most unequivocal and satisfactory evidence of unblemished character, good morals, sobriety, and industrious habits..." and "...sufficient means to pay for their l...
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An Irish Perspective on Scranton


You may have heard that President Joe Biden traveled to his ancestral homeland in County Mayo, Ireland back in April. President Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, also the birthplace of several of our Gilbride and McAndrew family lines, who likely also trace their roots back to County Mayo. At least one ancestor, my great-great grandmother Ann Kelly McAndrew, reportedly was born in County Mayo, though her exact birthplace is yet to be discovered.1

While in Ireland, President Biden visited the North Mayo Heritage Centre, dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich heritage of the region. The Centre's April 16, 2023 publication—Mayo Heritage Newsletter—profiled Scranton and its links to Mayo, in honor of President's visit.2 

I asked Centre staff for permission to include this article here, as it is interesting to see Scranton through Irish eyes. Many thanks to the North Mayo Heritage Centre staff for allowing me to reprint their newsletter article. 

If you prefer to read the article in PDF form, click here and download "Newsletter 16/04/23." Find an archive of past newsletters at the same webpage.

Until next time...

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NOTES

All links accessed 16 May 2023.

1 State of Ohio, Department of Health, Certificate of Death 68240, Ann McAndrew, 16 December 1925; database and images, "Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PKD-RJM : 16 May 2023); citing County Courthouse, Cleveland.

2 "Scranton," Mayo Heritage Newsletter, Vol. IV, #16, 16 April 2023; digital image, North Mayo Heritage Centre (https://www.northmayogenealogy.com/latest). Images used with permission.

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