DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker has to say about a man who helped shape Texas before Texas was Texas — this is Duane's tellin' of it. Erasmo Seguin. Born in San Antonio on May 26, 1782.
Died November 7, 1857. Buried at his ranch. And in between those two dates, he lived a life that would fill three lesser men.
His roots ran deep and long. He was a descendant of a Frenchman who had settled in Mexico before 1714 — so by the time Erasmo came along, his family had already been here for generations, woven into this land. And from the start, he stepped into civic life like it was his natural element.
He helped found the first public school in San Antonio in 1812. The first one. While most of the continent was still arguing about what the future might look like, Erasmo Seguin was already building it.
In 1821, he rode out with Juan M. Veramendi to escort the leaders of Austin's Colony to Bexar. That journey mattered.
From that point forward, Erasmo Seguin befriended Stephen F. Austin and the Anglo-American settlers coming into Texas — and he kept that friendship. He was postmaster of San Antonio from 1823 to 1835, and he served as deputy for Texas in the National Congress of Mexico in 1823 and 1824.
A man trusted with the mail and trusted with the law, all at once. Now, here is where the story starts to darken. Santa Anna came to power as a liberal in 1831.
And then — well, then he made himself dictator. Erasmo Seguin was not a man who swallowed that quietly. He joined his San Antonio neighbors in sending Santa Anna what the marker calls the "San Antonio Remonstrances" — formal protests — in 1832.
And in 1834 he called an opposition convention. He was not hiding. He was not hedging.
He was standing in the open and saying: no. Santa Anna noticed. Santa Anna's brother-in-law, General Cos, expelled Seguin from the postmastership.
And then had him run out of San Antonio on foot. On foot. This man — civic leader, postmaster, congressman — was made to walk.
Thirty-three miles. To his ranch, Casa Blanca. Now you might think that would break a man.
It did not break Erasmo Seguin. When he got to Casa Blanca, he started recruitin'. He gathered men to help the patriots win the siege of Bexar in December of 1835 — the very siege that expelled General Cos from the city that Cos had just expelled Seguin from.
There is a kind of justice in that, even if the marker doesn't say it plain. Early in 1836, Seguin sent spies to the Nueces River to watch for Santa Anna's movements. He lodged David Crockett in his own home.
He provisioned the Alamo before the final siege. He was doing everything a man could do, right up to the edge of what was coming. And then, after all of that — after the school, the congress, the postmastership, the thirty-three mile walk, the recruiting, the spies, the provisions — he was persecuted by newcomers to Texas.
The marker says it plainly and it lands hard. His son Juan went to Mexico. Erasmo refused to go.
He retired instead with his wife, Josefa Becerra, to Casa Blanca — located in what is now Wilson County — and that is where he died, and where he was buried, in 1857. He walked thirty-three miles to keep fighting for this place. And this place is where he stayed.
What the marker says
Near Homesite of Erasmo Seguin (May 26, 1782 - November 7, 1857) Born in San Antonio; descendant of Frenchman who settled in Mexico before 1714. Always a civic leader, helped found first public school in San Antonio, 1812. Went (1821) with Juan M. Veramendi to escort Austin Colony leaders to Bexar, and ever after befriended Stephen F. Austin and Anglo-American settlers. Seguin was postmaster of San Antonio, 1823-35, and deputy for Texas in National Congrss of Mexico, 1823-24. After Santa Anna came to power as liberal (1831), then made himself dictator, Seguin joined neighbors in sending him "San Antonio Remonstrances" (protests) in 1832, and called an opposition convention in 1834. Expelled from the postmastership by Santa Anna's brother-in-law, Gen. Cos, and made to flee from San Antonio on foot, he walked 33 miles to his ranch, Casa Blanca, where he recruited men to help patriots win siege of Bexar (Dec. 1835) and expel Gen. Cos. Early in 1836 he sent spies to the Nueces to watch for Santa Anna. He lodged David Crockett in his home, and provisioned the Alamo before the final siege. Persecuted by newcomers to Texas, he refused to go to Mexico with his son Juan, but with his wife Josefa Becerra retired to Casa Blanca (located in present Wilson County), where he died and was buried in 1857.