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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2009
Contact:
, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7379
Fax: (512) 974-7442
Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Purchases Pease Papers
The Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, announces the acquisition of 269 letters and documents relating to the life and career of former Texas governor Elisha Marshall Pease and his family. The collection includes personal letters, campaign correspondence, business records from Pease’s legal practice, and even an early sketch of the Pease Mansion on Niles Road. These papers were purchased, with funds from a grant from the Summerlee Foundation and from private donations to the Austin History Center Association, a private, non-profit support group of the History Center. This purchase represents about one-fourth of the collection being offered by a private seller, and the seller has agreed to hold the remainder of the collection to allow the History Center time to seek additional grant support for this project.
Pease, born and raised in Connecticut, came to Texas in 1834 and established a legal practice in Brazoria County. He quickly became involved in the Texas Revolution and early Republic/State politics, including writing portions of the Texas Criminal Code. He was elected Governor in 1853 and served 2 terms. A moderate Democrat, Pease supported many governmental reforms, including balancing the budget, while also initiating public and social improvements, including the creation of the Texas School for the Blind and the School for the Deaf. Pease, though a slaveholder, was Unionist and opposed Texas’ secession in the Civil War. After the War, Pease was appointed governor in 1867, but resigned in 1869 in opposition to Reconstruction policies. He resumed his private law practice in Austin until his death in 1883.
The Austin History Center holds the largest collection of Pease papers in a public archive. The AHC holdings total 209 document boxes of letters and printed material relating to the Pease and Graham families, Pease’s career as governor, and these families’ impact on Austin. The Niles-Graham-Pease collection was the first major archival acquisition for the AHC and continues to be the flagship collection of the AHC. The addition of this new collection of documents and letters adds substantial research value to this already rich collection. The strengths of the AHC Pease papers are the personal correspondence between family members and Pease’s governorship. This purchase adds depth to the collection by illustrating Pease’s extensive professional career and contacts as a lawyer and landowner in Texas. The correspondents in these letters include Republic of Texas and US Congressman Timothy Pillsbury, Guy M. Bryan, nephew of Stephen F. Austin, and Edward Clark, who served as Texas Governor during the Civil War. These letters cover the time period from Pease’s arrival in Texas in 1834 to family correspondence from the early 20th century.
For more information about the Pease papers, please contact AHC Manager Mike Miller at 512-974-7436. For more information about how you can help the Austin History Center Association acquire the remainder of the collection for the History Center, please contact AHCA Executive Director Jeff Cohen at 512-974-7499.
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