Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long

JANE HERBERT WILKINSON LONG

(JULY 23, 1798 – DECEMBER 30, 1880)

BORN IN CHARLES COUNTY, MARYLAND, JANE HERBERT WILKINSON LONG WAS A TEXAS PIONEER. SHE MARRIED JAMES LONG IN 1815, AND JOINED HIM IN TEXAS DURING HIS MILITARY INVASION OF THE THEN-SPANISH COLONY, SETTLING IN NACOGDOCHES. THE OCCUPATION WAS UNSUCCESSFUL, BUT THE LONGS RETURNED WITH SUPPORTERS IN 1820, BUILDING A FORT ON THE BOLIVAR PENINSULA AT THE EASTERN ENTRANCE TO GALVESTON BAY. JAMES LONG LEFT FOR LA BAHÍA TO GAIN SUPPORT, BUT WAS CAPTURED AND IMPRISONED IN MONTERREY. MEANWHILE, JANE, ALONG WITH HER DAUGHTER ANN AND SLAVE KIAN, REMAINED AT THE FORT, FACING FRIGID WINTER TEMPERATURES, LACK OF FOOD AND SUPPLIES, AND DANGER FROM THE NATIVE KARANKAWAS. IN THE MIDST OF THESE DIFFICULTIES, JANE LONG GAVE BIRTH TO A CHILD, LEADING TO HER HONORARY DESIGNATION AS “MOTHER OF TEXAS.”

AFTER HEARING OF HER HUSBAND’S DEATH, LONG LED HER FAMILY TO SETTLE AT VARIOUS PLACES ALONG THE SAN JACINTO RIVER AND IN SAN ANTONIO. THE FAMILY MOVED TO BE WITH KIN IN LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI IN 1823, BUT RETURNED IN 1825 AS PART OF STEPHEN F. AUSTIN’S FIRST COLONY, RECEIVING HER OWN HEADRIGHT OF LAND, USUALLY ACCORDED ONLY TO A MALE HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD. SHE SETTLED IN SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN.

DURING THE TEXAS WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE, LONG OPENED HER BOARDING HOUSE FOR RALLIES AND MEETINGS, WHILE ALSO GATHERING INFORMATION FROM MEXICAN OFFICERS AND STORING ARMS AND MUNITIONS. SHE FLED WITH OTHERS DURING THE RUNAWAY SCRAPE. AFTER THE WAR. IN HER REMAINING YEARS, LONG OPERATED A BOARDING HOUSE AND PLANTATION IN FORT BEND COUNTY. TODAY, JANE HERBERT WILKINSON LONG CONTINUES TO BE REMEMBERED AS A TEXAS PATRIOT AND A PIONEER OF THE TEXAS FRONTIER.

(2010)