From the Annals of the Pioneer Women – In 1821, Jane Long said goodbye to her husband James Long at Fort Las Casas on the Bolivar Peninsula. James was travelling to La Bahía as part of his mission to overthrow of the Mexican government. He never reached La Bahia and was captured at San Antonio de Bexar and taken to Mexico City. He never returned to Texas and died in prison in Mexico. Jane sought a pension from Governor José Félix Trespalacios, a friend of her husband. Denied any compensation, Long opened a boarding house in Brazoria which she operated for several years before moving to her land grant in the Austin colony. In Richmond, she opened another boarding house and built a plantation both of which were successful. The Civil War, however, reversed her fortunes and after the war she was dependent on her children and grandchildren. Often referred to as the “Mother of Texas”, Long claimed to be the first English-speaking woman to bear a child in Texas. The title stuck even though her claim was inaccurate. Numerous Texas landmarks bear her name today.
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