This Date In Texas History - December 29

[joe817]

1842 - Under orders of Sam Houston, officials arrived in Austin to remove the records of the Republic of Texas to the city of Houston, touching off the bloodless Archives War, as President Sam Houston deemed the still-frontier town of Austin to be in danger of falling into enemy hands. A confrontation developed outside the town, and after much negotiation the records were returned to Austin.

1845 - The United States Congress voted to annex Texas. Statehood was first proposed in 1837, but was rejected by President Martin Van Buren. Constitutional scruples and fear of war with Mexico were the reasons given for the rejection, but antislavery sentiment in the United States undoubtedly influenced Van Buren and continued to be the chief obstacle to annexation. Under President James Polk the United States Congress passed the Annexation Resolution in February 1845. Texas president Anson Jones called the Texas Congress into session on June 16, 1845, and a convention of elected delegates met on the Fourth of July. Both the Texas Congress and the convention voted for annexation, and a constitution was drawn up. The document was ratified by popular vote in October 1845 and accepted by the United States Congress on December 29, 1845. Texas became the 28th state. The former Republic lasted nine years before voting for annexation.

1897 - Singer and Composer Julius Bledsoe is born in Waco. In 1927 he performed as Joe in Jerome Kern's Showboat. His performance of "Ol Man River" in that musical, immediately made the song an American Classic.

1909 - Texas Folklore Society was founded in Dallas. Killis Campbell presented the resolution for the formation of the Folk-Lore Society of Texas at a meeting of the Texas State Teachers Association. embership in the organization, which is the second oldest continuously functioning folklore society in the United States, is open to anyone interested in folklore. Around sixty percent of the members are educators, the rest a conglomerate of professionals and history and folklore aficionados.

1972 - William J. McClanahan's last regular cartoon appeared in the Dallas Morning News. McClanahan became well known--as the "father of the Southwest Conference cartoon mascots"; as the popularizer of the "Grid Gram," a column that was, according to him, a "visual box score of a football game";

[joe817]

1978 - On this date, Mrs. joe817 gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Joann, at Arlington Memorial Hospital.
We love you Joann! Muah!

[USA1]

Happy Birthday Joann!

Joe, make sure she reads this.

[joe817]

I will for sure! Thank you.

[joe817]

Thanks for the birthday wishes USA1!

Joann