This Day In Texas History - March 31

[joe817]

1828 - Edward Robertson, one of the Old Three Hundred colonists, received title to a sitio of land in what is now Fort Bend County. In March 1830 he was the administrator of the B. A. Clark estate in Brazoria County. He died before March, 25, 1837, when Asa Brigham was administering his estate.

1836 - Sam Houston's army reached Groce's Landing above San Felipe in a heavy rain and established camp on the west side of the Brazos. Houston impressed the steamboat Yellow Stone (Yellowstone) to ferry his army across the flooding river. He made an agreement with Captain Ross and his crew of sixteen, pledging land in exchange for their services and promising indemnity to the boat's unspecified owners for wages and damages.

1858 - Pioneer Mormon leader Lyman Wight, determined to lead his people back to the North following a premonition of the coming Civil War, died near San Antonio. In 1838, Wight and Joseph Smith were among fifty Mormon leaders tried in Missouri for treason and other crimes against the state. After Smith's death in 1844, Brigham Young was selected as head of the Mormon church and resolved to lead his people to Utah, but Wight refused to accept Young's authority. He claimed that Smith had told him to found a Mormon colony in Texas. With some 200 followers, Wight moved to Texas in 1845, and received John O. Meusebach's permission to found a colony near Fredericksburg in 1847. Young sent two messengers to Texas to convince Wight to come to Utah, but Wight, refused. He was disfellowshiped by the Mormon church in 1849. In 1851, following a flood that destroyed their mills, the Mormons left Gillespie County and eventually settled in Bandera County.

1864 - Several anxious families of Gillespie, Kerr and Kendall counties—already victimized by both jayhawkers and Indians and having "forted up" together in common defense—upon hearing that Company "A" of the Frontier Regiment at Camp Davis in Gillespie County had been order redeployed, petitioned the Adjutant General to block the move.

1878 - World Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson is born in Galveston.

1887 - William Sanders Oury died in Tuscon, Arizona. When Oury was 16, he came to Texas on his own, and served under Colonel Travis at the Alamo. On February 29, 1836, Oury was sent as a courier to Sam Houston requesting more troops be sent to the Alamo in San Antonio. But before troops could be mustered, the battle was already over. Oury later fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, was a Texas Ranger, a prospector in the California Gold Rush, a Cattle Rancher, and Sheriff of Tuscon Arizona. He served in the Mexican War, survived the Mier expedition, the battles of Plum Creek and Bandera Pass. Oury died at his home in Tuscon in 1887. He was 69.

1883 - Cowboys from five ranches, including the LIT, LX, LS, LE and T Anchor went on strike against their bosses, absentee ranchers. The cowboys' grievances, however, were against developments that proved permanent. As closed-range ranching wiped out the previous open-range industry, some of the cowboys' traditional perks were denied them. No longer could they brand mavericks, keep small herds of their own, or receive part of their pay in calves. The strike mustered some 300 cowboys at its peak strength, but after 2 1/2 months the work stoppage was so weakened that the May roundup occurred without incident. The last press mention of the strike was in the Dodge City Times for May 10, 1883.

1922 - The Dallas Historical Society was Founded.

1980 - Future Hall of Fame quarterback roger Staubach announced his retirement at a press conference at Texas Stadium. Staubach held all major Dallas passing records and became the all-time leading NFL passer. At the time of his retirement he was the highest rated passer of all time (83.4). Sports Illustrated placed Staubach 29th in their list of 100 Greatest Football Players of all time. In a 1975 playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, Staubach threw a 50-yard bomb to Drew Pearson in the final moments to give Dallas the win 17-14. In an interview following the game, Staubach quipped that he prayed "Hail, Mary" before releasing the pass, and the "Hail Mary pass" became an enduring part of football nomenclature ever since.

1968 - The President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he was limiting the bombing of North Vietnam and was seeking negotiations. In a political surprise, he also announced that he would not be a candidate for reelection.

1989 - By March 31, 1989, the Texas FM system included 41,755 miles of pavement and was the most extensive network of secondary roads in the world. As of the same date, Texas had completed 3,234 miles of interstate highways, and its share of the system was nearly completed. All routes of the network have been constructed as controlled-access arteries with no stop signs or stop lights and no grade crossings. In some densely populated metropolitan areas the department has also developed high-occupancy vehicle lanes to aid in the flow of traffic. The Texas portion of the interstate system is longer than any other state's.