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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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Holiday Blog Post Roundup!

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Hello Dear Readers,

I've enjoyed writing about some favorite holiday memories over the past few years. This week, I thought I'd "round" them all up to share as my Christmas 2025 post. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did writing them. 

If you have your own holiday memories to share, please drop a comment or post a link to your own stories. I'd love to read them.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Nancy

My Holiday Blog Post Round Up 

Butter Cookies - No Christmas was complete without Mom's wonderful cookies (recipe included)!

Mom's Chocolate-Covered Cherries Caper - How my mom unwittingly became a Christmas thief!

Spider's Christmas - A fun holiday story written by our daughter, Anne, about how this tiny creature learned about Christmas.

 My Mom, the Queen of Christmas - No one loved to celebrate like Mom!
The Thumb's Christmas - Another cute little story written by our Anne for her little brother James.

The First Christmas Tree I Remember bore striking similarities to a Charlie Brown tree!

A Christmas Memory - This one was written by my husband Jim about one of his own favorite memories involving holiday lights.

Ornamental Christmas - Special memories behind several family Christmas tree ornaments.

Opening the Christmas Memory Box - Two cherished Christmas memories of my children. 

Another Gem from the Christmas Memory Box - One loving gesture meant so much. 



Grandma Gilbride's Date & Nut Bread - Enjoy this holiday classic recipe! 


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