Dr. Gregg Cantrell talks about Austin's family and early life starting when he was born in Virginia in 1793. Cantrell describes Moses Austin's business ventures in lead mining. Austin's operation was a success and he amassed a fortune for his family of about $500,000. Stephen grows up in Louisiana amidst a polyglot population of Anglo-Americans, Spanish, French, Indians, and African slaves but was sent back to New England at the age of eleven to receive an education. He later moves back West to attend college in Missouri at Transylvania College and, after attending for two years, moves back home to get involved with his father's mining business. However, the War of 1812 and the Depression in 1819 cause his father's mining operation to collapse, leaving the Austin family in hard times. Stephen, vowing to restore the family fortune, becomes involved in land speculation in Little Rock, Arkansas, but only plunges further into debt.
Clip is from Dr. Cantrell's Texas Talks webinar "Stephen F. Austin: Empresario of Texas." Join TSHA to watch the full webinar on www.mytsha.com.
