Stephen F. Austin's Friend

Seguin's story goes back to his distinguished father, Erasmo Seguin, and indeed for generations before that. An ancestor named Guillermo Seguin left Paris in 1654, and at the age of 13 sailed to the New World. He settled in Aguascalientes, New Spain. Jose Santiago de Seguin, a descendant of Guillermo, was born in the mission village on the frontier of New Spain that came to be called San Antonio. His third son, known as Erasmo Seguin, became the first alcalde of the Department of Bexar, and served for most of three decades as the postmaster as well.

Erasmo Seguin traveled in the U.S. and came to admire the freedom and growing prosperity of the young democracy. As a result, he befriended Stephen F. Austin at a crucial moment. Moses Austin had first gained permission from Spain to bring Anglo settlers to colonize the almost empty lands along the lower Brazos. When he died, the project was left with his son.

Meanwhile Mexico became independent, and Austin's deal had to be renegotiated. Erasmo Seguin helped the young Stephen F. Austin through political and bureaucratic barriers to gain permission anew. Austin's Colony could not have happened without Erasmo Seguin.

Born October 27, 1806, Juan Nepomuceno Seguin was coming of age during the years of Anglo settlement in the colonies of Stephen F. Austin and Green DeWitt. The Seguin family purchased ranchland near present-day Floresville, where Erasmo Seguin built a house he called Casa Blanca. Juan Seguin himself started running herds along the Cibolo, on the western border of the present Guadalupe County.

Juan Seguin entered politics as a young man, at the age of 22 he was elected a council member and then at the age of 30 he was elected alcalde, the highest elected position in the community.Almost immediately, he was asked to fill a vacancy and acted for some time as the jefe politico, the highest civilian representative of the Mexican Governor in Saltillo.

After the Revolution, Juan Seguin resumed his political career with distinction. He was elected a senator from the Bexar District in the Second, Third, and Fourth Congresses of the Republic of Texas. Serving from 1837 until 1940, he urged that the laws of the Republic be published in both Spanish and English, so all could read them.

At Goliad, Fannin dithered, despite the appeals to go to the aid of the Texians trapped in the Alamo. So Juan Seguin recruited more Tejanos from among the rancheros and vaqueros of the ranches along the lower Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers.

At Gonzales they met with General Sam Houston, recently named to lead the Texian forces. Then word came: The Alamo had fallen. Santa Anna was heading east, vowing to drive all the Anglos out of Texas. The town of Gonzales was burned, to deny its shelter to Santa Anna.

At Peach Creek cabin of Sarah and Bartlett McClure, a few miles east,Houston began his strategic retreat. He was not ready to fight, because his tiny force was not ready to fight. He needed to put miles between himself and the invaders, while raising a new army from among the settlers in Austin's colony along the Brazos.