DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now settle in, because this story starts the way the best Texas stories do — with a handful of determined women and a purpose bigger than the room they were sitting in. November 6, 1891.
Seventeen women gathered at the home of Mrs. Andrew Briscoe, right here at this very site in Harris County. They hadn't come for pleasantries, though I suspect the hospitality was fine.
They had come to organize. The occasion was an auxiliary to the Texas Veterans Association, and before they left, they had something real: a brand new group called the Daughters of the Lone Star Republic, with Mrs. Anson Jones elected as its first president.
Now right from the start, these women set their sights wide. Preserving the memories of Texas Revolution heroes. Getting Texas patriotism into the state's schoolrooms.
Protecting historic sites before time and neglect could finish them off. And making sure the whole state stopped to mark March 2 — Texas Independence Day — and April 21, San Jacinto Day, with proper celebration. They weren't thinking small.
Not even a little bit. The first annual meeting of the organization was held in Lampasas on April 21, 1892 — San Jacinto Day itself, which tells you something about how serious they were. And at that meeting, they passed a resolution to change the name.
The Daughters of the Lone Star Republic became the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Also by 1892, the first two chapters had taken root — one in Galveston, one in Houston. The organization had barely found its footing, and it was already spreading across the state.
Now, I want you to picture this next part clearly, because it deserves to land. The Alamo — that old mission in San Antonio, soaked through with the history of the Texas Revolution — was facing demolition. Not neglect.
Not decay. Demolition. And it was Clara Driscoll, acting on behalf of the D.R.T., who picked up a pen and wrote personal checks to save it.
Not a committee. Not a government agency. Personal checks.
The DRT also led the efforts to preserve and commemorate the San Jacinto Battlefield site. And to this day, the organization maintains the old General Land Office and the French Legation buildings in Austin as museums. Seventeen women around a parlor table in 1891.
And somewhere along the way, the Alamo is still standing. That's not a small thing. That's Texas.
What the marker says
On November 6, 1891, seventeen women met at the home of Mrs. Andrew Briscoe at this site to organize an auxiliary to the Texas Veterans Association. Mrs. Anson Jones was elected president of the new organization, Daughters of the Lone Star Republic. Goals set for the group included preserving the memories of Texas Revolution heroes, instilling Texas patriotism in the state's school children, preservation of historic sites, and promoting statewide celebrations of Texas Independence Day (March 2) and San Jacinto Day (April 21). The first annual meeting of the organization was held in Lampasas on April 21, 1892. A resolution was passed to change the group's name to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. By 1892 the first two chapters had been formed, one in Galveston and one in Houston. The DRT has been in the forefront of many historic preservation projects throughout the state. Clara Driscoll, on behalf of the D. R. T., wrote personal checks to save the Alamo from demolition. The organization also led efforts to preserve and commemorate the San Jacinto Battlefield site, and maintains the old General Land Office and French Legation buildings in Austin as museums. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986