Robert Wilson Collection

Collection

Identifier: A-0081

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The bulk of this collection consists of letters written by Robert Wilson to his son James T. D. Wilson. In the letters Wilson reveals his personal feelings and philosophy. An in-depth study of the letters, with accompanying typescripts of each one, was done in an SFASU thesis in 1966 by Wanda L. Roark entitled Robert Wilson: Letters To His Son. All of the documents and letters in this collection are photostats.

Dates

Creation: 1835-1856

Creator

Wilson, Robert (Person)

Language of Materials

The collection is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Biographical or Historical Information

Robert Wilson, a prominent citizen of early Texas, was born in Maryland in 1793. He came to Texas in 1828 with William Plunkett Harris and the two men settled in Anahuac where they established the Harrisburg sawmill. Wilson served in the Texas Army, participating in the taking of San Antonio in December of 1835. In 1836 he was elected from Harrisburg to the Senate of the Texas Congress. Because of his part in preventing the perpetration of a swindle on the Texas government, Wilson came to be known as "Honest Bob". He had two sons, John R. Wilson and James Theodore Dudley Wilson. Wilson died in Houston on May 25, 1856, and is buried there.

(History of Texas Together with a Biographical HIstory of the Cities of Houston and Galveston. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1895. p. 437).

Extent

0.20 Cubic Feet

Additional Description

Abstract

Robert Wilson was a businessman, soldier in the Republic of Texas Army and congressman of Harrisburg, Texas. Photostats of Wilson's letters to his son, James Theodore Dudley Wilson, and some miscellaneous other documents.