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Born in Charles
county, Maryland, Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long was a
Texas pioneer. She married James Long in 1815, and
joined him in Texas during his military invasion of
the then-Spanish colony, settling in Nacogdoches. The
occupation was unsuccessful, but the Longs returned
with supporters in 1820, building a fort on the
Bolivar peninsula at the eastern entrance to Galveston
bay. James Long left for La Bahía to gain support, but
was captured and imprisoned in Monterrey. Meanwhile,
Jane, along with her daughter Ann and slave Kian,
remained at the fort, facing frigid winter
temperatures, lack of food and supplies, and danger
from the native Karankawas. In the midst of these
difficulties, Jane Long gave birth to a child, leading
to her honorary designation as “Mother of Texas.”
After hearing of her husband’s death, Long led her
family to settle at various places along the San
Jacinto river and San Antonio. The family moved to be
with kin in Louisiana and Mississippi in 1823, but
returned in 1825 as part of Stephen F. Austin’s first
colony, receiving her own headright of land, usually
accorded only to a male head of household. She settled
in San Felipe de Austin.
During the Texas war for independence, Long opened her
boarding house for rallies and meetings, while also
gathering information from Mexican officers and
storing arms and munitions. She fled with others
during the runaway scrape. After the war, in her
remaining years, Long operated a boarding house and
plantation in Fort Bend county. Today, Jane Herbert
Wilkinson Long continues to be remembered as a Texas
patriot and a pioneer of the Texas frontier.
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