David G. Burnet

Burnet was born to Dr. William Burnet and his second wife, Gertrude Gouverneur Rutgers, widow of Anthony Rutgers (a brother of Henry Rutgers who founded Rutgers University). His father had served in the Continental Congress. David Burnet was orphaned as a child. In 1805, Burnet became a clerk for a New York counting house, Robinson and Hartshorne. When the firm suffered financial difficulty, Burnet gave his entire personal inheritance, $1,300 (), to try to save the company. The firm went bankrupt, and Burnet lost all of the money. Upon his return Burnet moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, to study law. He lived with his two older brothers, Jacob, who later became a US Senator, and Isaac, who later served as mayor of Cincinnati. ==Early Texas years==

In 1817, Burnet moved to Natchitoches, Louisiana and set up a mercantile business. After several months, he developed a bloody cough. A doctor diagnosed him with tuberculosis and suggested he move to Texas, then a part of Mexico to recuperate in the dry air. Later that year, Burnet traveled alone into Texas. A Comanche tribe came to his aid when he fell off of his horse by the Colorado River, and he lived with them for two years until he made a full recovery. Near the end of the year, he met Ben Milam, who had come to the village to trade with the tribe. His cough improved, and Burnet returned to Cincinnati. He asked that the Mexican prisoners be released with him and allowed to return home. The Comanches agreed to this proposal, and the Mexican families were surprised that there was no ransom or other agreement to the release of these prisoners. In Cincinnati, Burnet wrote a series of articles for the Literary Gazette detailing his time with the Native Americans. He practiced law for several years but returned to Texas after hearing of Stephen F. Austin's thriving colony for Anglos. Burnet settled in San Felipe, the headquarters of Austin's colony, in 1826. For the next 18 months, he provided law advice to the 200 settlers in the town and organized the first Presbyterian Sunday School in Texas. A profoundly religious man, Burnet neither drank nor swore and always carried a Bible in his pocket. ==Texas empresario==

After a failed venture with Milam, the Western Colonization and Mining Company, in 1827, Burnet traveled with Lorenzo de Zavala and Joseph Vehlein to the Coahuila y Tejas state capitol, Saltillo. The men applied for grants as empresarios under the General Colonization Law of 1824. Burnet received authorization to settle 300 families in East Texas, northwest of Nacogdoches, an area that had already been settled by the Cherokee. Burnet returned to Ohio to recruit settlers but could not entice the required number of families. In 1828, he sold his land grant to the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company for $12,000. Burnet remained in the United States for several years, and on December 8, 1830, married Hannah Estey of Morristown, New Jersey. At their wedding, he was 43, and she was 30 years old. Eager to return to Texas, Burnet and his new wife chartered the ship Call and brought a steam engine to operate a sawmill. A storm grounded the ship along Bolivar Point, and, to lighten the load, they were forced to discard all of Hannah's furniture and her hope chest. The steam engine was the only piece of cargo that could be saved. Burnet established his sawmill on of land along the San Jacinto River, in an area that came to be known as Burnet's Bay. Under Mexican law, Burnet was entitled to an extra land grant because his sawmill provided a needed public service. However, the law required settlers to convert to Roman Catholicism to receive the extra land grant. The devout Burnet refused, angering the Mexican authorities to the point that they canceled his grant for operating the sawmill. The mill was finally sold to Dr. Branch T. Archer at a large loss. ==Early public service==

Burnet was a delegate to the Convention of 1833, where he was elected the chair of a committee that created a petition arguing that the Mexican Congress approve separate statehood for Texas. Stephen F. Austin carried the petition to Mexico City and was promptly jailed. Shortly after the Convention of 1833 disbanded, Antonio López de Santa Anna became Mexico's new president. Over the next two years, Santa Anna began consolidating his political control over the country by dissolving the Mexican Congress and disbanding state legislatures. In October 1835, Santa Anna declared himself military dictator and marched north to "reassert control over Texas". During this time, Burnet had been appointed the first judge of the Austin district and organized a court at San Felipe. From then on, he was known as Judge Burnet. He and other Texians determined that Texas should be an independent state within Mexico. In November 1835, the Consultation of 1835 was held at San Felipe. At the consultation, Burnet formed a provisional state government based on the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, which Santa Anna had already repudiated. ==Republic of Texas==

Birth On March 1, 1836, a constitutional convention, the Convention of 1836, was held at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Burnet was not chosen as a delegate to the convention. On hearing of William B. Travis's plea for help at the Alamo, Burnet immediately set out to offer his assistance. He stopped at the convention to try to recruit others to join the fight but soon became so "inspired by their deliberations" that he remained as a visitor. Interim presidency Wartime One of Burnet's first acts as president was to transfer the capital of the new state from Washington-on-the-Brazos to Harrisburg, which was located nearer to the small Texas Navy at Galveston Island. Harrisburg was also closer to the US border and would allow easier communication with US officials. The move became urgent when the convention received word that Santa Anna was within of Washington-on-the-Brazos. Burnet quickly adjourned the proceedings, and the government fled, inspiring a massive fight known as the Runaway Scrape. Burnet was infuriated by Houston's criticism and accused Houston of staging a retreat because he was afraid to fight. Within several days, Burnet had stationed a spy, Major James H. Perry, on Houston's staff. To discredit Houston, Perry initiated a groundless rumor that Houston had begun taking opium. In the hopes of gaining assistance from the US, Burnet sent Carson, now his secretary of state, to Louisiana to approach General Edmund P. Gaines, who had been given orders by US President Andrew Jackson not to cross the Sabine River into Texas. Out of safety concerns, the government was moved again on April 13 to Galveston. Peacetime Burnet did not hear of Houston's victory at San Jacinto and subsequent capture of Santa Anna until several days after. He hurried to the battlefield, where he often complained about Houston's use of profanity. Houston's staff "complained that the president grumbled ungraciously, was hard to please, and spent all of his time giving orders and collecting souvenirs." The two men also argued over the distribution of $18,000 in specie that had been found in Santa Anna's treasure chest. Burnet insisted that the money should go to the Texas treasury, but Houston had already given $3,000 to the Texas Navy and distributed the rest among his men. Mexico later repudiated the treaty. The people of Texas were incensed at the terms of the treaty. The public, the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the Navy wanted to see Santa Anna executed for his actions. Most of Burnet's time was spent writing proclamations, orders, and letters appealing for funds and volunteers. With no money and little respect for Burnet, it was unsurprising that "no one followed orders, and the government struggled to direct the state effectively." During the transition of power, Burnet's son Jacob died at Velasco. The Burnets returned to their home, which had been looted, which left them with no furniture or other household articles. To support his family, Burnet practiced law and farmed. Burnet challenged Houston to a duel, but Houston refused: "The people are equally disgusted with both of us." Presidential candidate Burnet dismissed several of Lamar's appointees during his time as acting president, angering the president. After Lamar's term, Burnet agreed to run for president. Houston also accused Burnet of being a drunk. Burnet again challenged Houston to a duel, but again, Houston refused. Houston won the election with 7,915 votes to Burnet's 3,619. ==Later life==

After losing the presidential election, Burnet returned to his farm. His feud with Houston continued, and in 1852, Burnet wrote the pamphlet "Review of the Life of General Sam Houston," which recounted many rumors and allegations of Houston's improper behavior. Houston retaliated in February 1859 by giving a speech on the floor of the US Senate that disparaged Burnet. In 1865, Sherman's wife died, and Burnet left Sherman's home to live with Preston Perry. The following year, the first Reconstruction state legislature appointed Burnet and Oran Roberts to be US senators from Texas. Neither man could take the Ironclad oath, so they were not permitted to take their Senate seats. He was first buried in Magnolia Cemetery, but in 1894, his remains were moved to Galveston's Lakeview Cemetery, where he was buried next to Sidney Sherman's grave. Burnet County was named in his honor when it was formed in 1852, as was its county seat. In 1936, the state erected a statue of Burnet in Clarksville. David G. Burnet Elementary School in Dallas and David G. Burnet Elementary School in Odessa are named in his honor. ==See also==