2/9/1854: Texas pays beef bill, twelve years late

[Craig Tx]

On this day in 1854, Samuel K. Lewis finally received payment for two beeves he had furnished to the Army of the Republic of Texas in November 1842.

Lewis, whose place and date of birth are unknown, had moved to Texas in 1838. He was issued an unconditional grant for land in Brazoria County in 1841 and was living in or near La Grange by 1842. In that year, president Sam Houston and Congress were pursuing a policy of retrenchment and economy. Despite their efforts, by the time Texas was annexed to the United States, in 1845, the money owed Lewis was part of a $12 million public debt. Lewis, who also represented Austin County in the House of Representatives of the Ninth Congress (1844-1845), died in 1867.