McManus, Jane

Prospective colonial leader who in 1832 hoped to settle thrifty Europeans on a Mexican grant, which she never received. Mrs. McManus, daughter of a U.S. congressman from New York, was a family friend of Stephen F. Austin, "Father of Texas". Joining her Texas venture was her brother, Robert McManus, who later fought in the war for Independence. Although her colonial plans failed, Jane McManus remained enthusiastic about Texas. For years in the 1850s she and her second husband, Gen. Wm. Cazneau, lived in Eagle Pass. She is said to have been an advisor for the U.S. peacemakers after the Mexican War. Outside Texas she had a career as a New York journalist and author. She died in 1878 when a ship was lost at sea as she journeyed to her estate in Jamaica. Although Austin was the most famous leader in Texas colonization, other empresarios included Green DeWitt, Hayden Edwards, Robert Leftwich, Frost Thorn, Martin DeLeon, Ben Milam, Gen. Arthur G. Wavell, David G. Burnet, John Cameron, James Hewetson, James Power, Juan Dominguez, Juan Antonio Padilla, Thomas J. Chambers, Gen. Vicente Filisola, J.C. Beales and Jose M. Royuela. Mrs. McManus was the only known lady colonizer.

McManus, Jane is a historical marker in Matagorda County, Texas, dedicated in 1967. It is one of 88 historical markers documented in Matagorda County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 114 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 28.6909, -95.9714. The nearest cataloged historic site is Early Texas Freighting (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Matagorda Post Office, Old, World War I and II Memorial, and Fisher - Sargent - Gottschalk House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5321004771. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.