Mary Austin Holley

Mary Austin Holley, cousin to Stephen F. Austin, was widowed in 1827 and the sole supporter of her two children. She secured a land grant from her cousin but never actually made it her permanent residency. She hoped “to sell her Texas lands one day to ease her financial straits, her frequent trips, correspondence, and writings concerning Texas helped promote the young colony, garner sympathy for the revolution, and secure the reputation of Stephen F. Austin.” Since writer was an acceptable profession for a woman, she wrote several books including “Texas: Observations, Historical, Geographical, and Descriptive.” However, Holly still disguised her female authorship by just signing her initials. She is considered “one of the best known women in North America during the first part of the nineteenth century.”