Note 146 — DOWNFALL OF THE FREDONIAN REPUBLIC 143

Chaplin was a son-in-law of Edwards, not his brother-in-law.

Nacogdoches was one of the earliest Spanish settlements of this region. In 1715 a mission was established in the near neighborhood, and by 1765 a few permanent inhabitants had collected in the locality. With the Spanish acquisition of Louisiana (1762), the place took on new consequence, emigrants from the former province were invited to remove thither under the official tenure of the commandant, Gil y Barbo, a man of energy and enterprise. Under his rule was built (1778) the "stone house" which played a rôle in the history of Fredonia, but has recently been razed. In 1805, Nacogdoches was fortified against American advance, and the following year is reported with five hundred inhabitants. During the Mexican revolution, however, Nacogdoches suffered severely, and after 1819 was wholly abandoned for several years. Included in Edwards's grant, the town became the rallying point both for the adherents and opponents of the Fredonian republic. In 1832 Nacogdoches was once more a battle-ground between the republican and monarchical forces of Mexico. After Texan independence (1836), its importance rapidly declined. It is now (1905) the seat of a county of that name, and has a population of about 1,800.—Ed.