There are three historic documents that support the existence of a black female associated with events related to the culmination of the independence of Texas from Mexico at San Jacinto in 1836 and numerous invigorating and exciting treatises on the subject. For background, see here, here, and here.
One is a contract dated October 1835 between early Texian businessman James Morgan from New York with one Emily D. West as a housekeeper for one year.
A second is an undated letter of support for a passport for one Emily D. West, a free woman, believed to have been written by I.N. Moreland after April 1836.
The third is a diary entry probably of 1842 by English ethnologist William Bollaert during a visit to Houston that appears to be from a letter written by Sam Houston to a friend that gave rise to the classical legend of the Yellow Rose of Texas:
"The Battle of San Jacinto was probably lost to the Mexicans, owing to the influence of a Mulatta girl (Emily) belonging to Col. Morgan who was closeted in the tent with gl Santana, at the time the cry was made "the Enemy! They come! They come! + detained Santana so long, that order could not be restored readily again.
There is raging debate over whether there was a real person of color Emily D. West that gave rise to the Yellow Rose of Texas legend the most extreme story of which suggests that she contributed to a womanizing General Santa Annas defeat on the afternoon of April 21 at San Jacinto in a tryst of some sort with him that distracted him from the surprise attack.
An alternative theory has been proposed that Emily D. West referred to in the three documents and Emily West De Zavala, the wife of Lorenzo De Zavala, the first vice-president of the Republic of Texas, who is well-known and appears in other archival documents of Texas history, were one and the same.
The author questions the provenance of the 1835 employment contract that contains a clear signature of Emily D. West. The signature is debatably different from that of Emily West De Zavala in later documents who temporarily left Texas in 1836-7, but returned to live out her life with two additional husbands and children from the marriage with Zavala and another in Texas.
The author contends that Emily West De Zavala was actually a woman of African-American heritage and a racially-motivated conspiracy was carried out in 1836-7 to downplay or hide the fact that a person of African heritage could be of such stature in Texas history.
The central thesis is that it is difficult to clearly distinguish a Emily D. West and Emily West De Zavala from documents of the period. However, it is equally difficult to definitively show that Emily West De Zavala was of African-American heritage from information in archival documents and in absence of definitive genetic testing of descendants.
Here is an alternative hypothesis that unifies some of the arguments.
READ ON
One is a contract dated October 1835 between early Texian businessman James Morgan from New York with one Emily D. West as a housekeeper for one year.
A second is an undated letter of support for a passport for one Emily D. West, a free woman, believed to have been written by I.N. Moreland after April 1836.
The third is a diary entry probably of 1842 by English ethnologist William Bollaert during a visit to Houston that appears to be from a letter written by Sam Houston to a friend that gave rise to the classical legend of the Yellow Rose of Texas:
"The Battle of San Jacinto was probably lost to the Mexicans, owing to the influence of a Mulatta girl (Emily) belonging to Col. Morgan who was closeted in the tent with gl Santana, at the time the cry was made "the Enemy! They come! They come! + detained Santana so long, that order could not be restored readily again.
There is raging debate over whether there was a real person of color Emily D. West that gave rise to the Yellow Rose of Texas legend the most extreme story of which suggests that she contributed to a womanizing General Santa Annas defeat on the afternoon of April 21 at San Jacinto in a tryst of some sort with him that distracted him from the surprise attack.
An alternative theory has been proposed that Emily D. West referred to in the three documents and Emily West De Zavala, the wife of Lorenzo De Zavala, the first vice-president of the Republic of Texas, who is well-known and appears in other archival documents of Texas history, were one and the same.
The author questions the provenance of the 1835 employment contract that contains a clear signature of Emily D. West. The signature is debatably different from that of Emily West De Zavala in later documents who temporarily left Texas in 1836-7, but returned to live out her life with two additional husbands and children from the marriage with Zavala and another in Texas.
The author contends that Emily West De Zavala was actually a woman of African-American heritage and a racially-motivated conspiracy was carried out in 1836-7 to downplay or hide the fact that a person of African heritage could be of such stature in Texas history.
The central thesis is that it is difficult to clearly distinguish a Emily D. West and Emily West De Zavala from documents of the period. However, it is equally difficult to definitively show that Emily West De Zavala was of African-American heritage from information in archival documents and in absence of definitive genetic testing of descendants.
Here is an alternative hypothesis that unifies some of the arguments.
READ ON
