DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, this comes straight off the official marker for Henri Castro, right here in Medina County — and what a story they put on that stone. Now, Henri Castro was a man who carried a lot of world with him wherever he went. Born in Bayonne, France, descended from Portuguese nobility, he passed through Napoleon's French Army — briefly, mind you — before life sent him in a whole different direction.
In 1813 he married Marie Amelia Mathias, and eventually he made his way across the Atlantic to the United States, where in 1827 he became a naturalized citizen. Most men would've planted roots right there and called it a life. Not Henri Castro.
He went back to France in 1838 and joined the banking house of Lafitte and Company. And while he was there, he helped negotiate a loan — a loan — for the Republic of Texas. Now, a grateful President Sam Houston took notice of that, and he appointed Castro as Texas' General Consul in Paris.
So here you've got a French-born, Portuguese-descended, American-naturalized banker in Paris, and somehow he ends up working for Texas. That's a résumé that takes some explaining at a dinner party. But here's where things get truly consequential.
Between 1843 and 1847, Castro served as Empresario, and in that role he administered the settlement of at least two thousand, one hundred and thirty-four European colonists in this very area. Two thousand, one hundred and thirty-four people. He didn't just recruit them and wave goodbye — he poured himself into sustaining that colonial effort until he had exhausted his own personal wealth.
His own. Gone. And still, he kept at it.
That level of dedication, people noted it even then. Many came to compare Henri Castro favorably to the legendary Stephen F. Austin himself.
That is not a comparison folks made lightly in Texas, and they still don't. Henri and Marie made their home in Castroville with their four foster children. But by 1860, the family had moved to San Antonio.
Henri and his son Lorrenzo eventually traveled out to Eagle Pass to run a family mercantile business — because apparently Henri Castro didn't know how to sit still even in his later years. And then, in 1865, he set out for France one more time. He never got there.
On that journey he was diverted to Monterrey, Mexico, where he became ill — and where he died. He was buried in Monterrey in 1865. A man who crossed oceans, built a colony, and spent his fortune doing it, laid to rest in a city he hadn't planned to stop in.
Eleven years later, in 1876, a newly created county in Texas was named for him. Castro County. It's still there on the map, carrying his name across the Texas plains — which might be the most Texas kind of monument a man could ask for.
What the marker says
Henri Castro, a native of Bayonne, France, and the descendant of Portuguese nobility, served briefly in Napoleon's French Army. In 1813 he married Marie Amelia Mathias. He later immigrated to the United States and in 1827 became a naturalized U.S. Citizen. He returned to France in 1838 and joined the banking house of Lafitte and Company. While there he helped negotiate a loan for the Republic of Texas for which a grateful President Sam Houston later appointed him Texas' General Consul in Paris. Between 1843 and 1847 Castro administered, as Empresario, the settlement of at least 2,134 European colonists in this area. Castro eventually exhausted his own personal wealth to sustain his colonial effort. His extraordinary dedication to his colonists has led many to compare him favorably to the legendary Stephen F. Austin. Henri and Marie lived in Castroville with their four foster children. By 1860, however, the family was living in San Antonio. Henri and his son, Lorrenzo, traveled to Eagle Pass to run a family mercantile business. On his way to France in 1865, Castro was diverted to Monterrey, Mexico, where he became ill and died. He was buried in Monterrey in 1865. In 1876 the newly created Castro County, Texas, was named for Henri Castro. 1994