Mary Austin Holley: The Texas Diary, 1835-1838

Mary Austin Holley (1784-1846), a cousin of Stephen F. Austin, journeyed to Texas on three separate occasions. Her first visit, in 1831, resulted in the publication of her book, Texas. Her second and third trips, in 1835 and 1837, were depicted in her diary. This witty, observant, and highly perceptive woman captured the infant Texas in her journal-the Mexican state moving toward rebellion and the new Republic, dynamic and struggling with a great destiny. The Holley diary is an important insight into the social and political history of early Texas.


About the Author
James Perry Bryan (1909-1975) was uniquely suited to edit the Mary Austin Holley diary. Attorney, Texana collector, and past Regent of the University of Texas, he was widely considered the leading historian of the lower Brazos River area. He traced his ancestry to two great Texas pioneer families and was the descendant of Emily Austin Perry Bryan, sister of Stephen F. Austin. His family owned Peach Point Plantation, home of Stephen F. Austin.