DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Empresario James Power, out in Refugio County. Now settle in, because this man covered some ground. Born in Ireland, James Power made his first big move when he came to New Orleans in 1809.
Texas called him next, and he arrived in 1823 — right in that era when the land was still being carved up and handed out to men bold enough to do something with it. Power was one of those men. He partnered with fellow Irish empresario James Hewetson — born 1796, died 1870 — and together they were awarded contracts to settle Irish Catholic and Mexican families in the territory between the Guadalupe and Lavaca Rivers.
That was already a tall order. Then in 1830, their territory was extended all the way to the Nueces. More land, more responsibility, more trouble.
Power decided to go straight to the source and sailed back to Ireland to recruit colonists himself. Now, here's where the story takes a dark turn. On the return voyage, sickness and shipwreck tragically reduced their numbers.
Just let that sit for a moment — men and women who had packed up their lives, crossed an ocean on the promise of a new beginning, and the sea took some of them before they ever set foot on Texas soil. Power pressed on. In 1835 he urged his colonists to garrison Goliad, and he battled staunchly against hostile Indians.
But Power wasn't only a fighter — the marker calls him a fine diplomat, and that's not a small thing. He helped secure Indian neutrality during the Texas Revolution, which means battles that might have been fought on a second front simply weren't. When the moment of founding came, Power was there.
He signed both the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Constitution — a close friend of General Sam Houston, standing at the hinge of history. The work kept coming. In 1838 he was commissioned to conclude a treaty with the Lipan Indians.
In 1842 a Mexican invasion force briefly imprisoned him — briefly being the key word, because Power kept right on. He represented Refugio in the Republic of Texas Senate and showed up again at the Annexation Convention of 1845. The man was present for nearly every consequential moment Texas had in those years.
His personal life carried its own weight. He married twice — first to Dolores, who died in 1836, and later to Tomasa Portilla. Both women were Spanish-born daughters of Empresario Felipe Portilla.
Together, across his life, Power had seven children. He died in 1852 at Live Oak Point, his principal home. And then, around 1872, he was reinterred at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Refugio.
From Ireland to New Orleans to Texas, from colonist recruiter to treaty commissioner to senator — James Power didn't just witness the birth of Texas. He helped build it, brick by brick, voyage by voyage, signature by signature.
What the marker says
Born in Ireland, Colonial James Power came to New Orleans in 1809 and to Texas in 1823. With fellow Irish Empresario James Hewetson (1796-1870), he was awarded contracts to settle Irish Catholic and Mexican families between the Guadalupe and Lavaca Rivers. Their territory was extended in 1830 to the Nueces. Power went to Ireland to recruit colonists. On the return voyage sickness and shipwreck tragically reduced their numbers. In 1835 he urged his colonist to garrison Goliad, and battled staunchly against hostile Indians. He was a fine diplomat and helped secure Indian neutrality during the Texas Revolution. A close friend General Sam Houston, Power signed both the the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In 1838 he was commissioned to conclude a treaty with the Lipan Indians. In 1842 he was briefly imprisoned by a Mexican invasion force. He represented Refugio in the Republic of Texas Senate and at the Annexation Convention of 1845. Power married twice, to Dolores (d. 1836) and later Tomasa Portilla, Spanish-born daughters of Empresario Felipe Portilla, and had seven children. He died at Live Oak Point, his principal home, in 1852, and was reintered at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Refugio, about 1872.