Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop
| Felipe Enrique Neri Baron de Bastrop |
|
|---|---|
Monument of Baron de Bastrop in Bastrop County, Texas.
|
|
| Native name | Baron de Bishop |
| Born |
Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel November 23, 1759 Paramaribo, Surinam |
| Died | February 27, 1827 (aged 67) Saltillo, Mexico |
| Resting place | Saltillo |
| Known for |
Louisiana land development Texas colonization partnership with Stephen F. Austin |
| Spouse(s) | Georgine Wolffeline Françoise Lijcklama à Nyeholt |
| Children | Five |
| Parent(s) | Conraed Laurens Nering Maria Jacoba (Kraayvanger) Bögel |
Felipe Enrique Neri (born Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel; November 23, 1759 in Paramaribo, Surinam – 23 February 1827) was a Dutch businessman and land owner known for his money in Anglo-American settlement of Texas.
Bastrop was born Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel and changed his name when he moved to San Antonio, Texas. He was the son of Conraed Laurens Nering and Maria Jacoba (Kraayvanger) Bögel. In 1764, he moved to the Netherlands with his parents and later joined the cavalry. Neri married Georgine Wolffeline Françoise Lijcklama à Nyeholt in Oldeboorn, Friesland on April 28, 1782. Together, they had five children. They later settled in Leeuwarden, Friesland, where Neri worked as a tax collector.
Neri was accused of using tax funds for personal gain in 1793, so he left his family and fled to Spanish Louisiana before he could go to court. In Louisiana, Neri introduced himself as a Dutch nobleman, Baron de Bastrop. People believed his false identity, and Neri was soon engaged in many land deals where he made a fortune but later went broke. He received permission from Spain to form a colony in the Ouachita River valley. His contract with Spanish colonial governor Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet provided for European settlement of 850,000 acres on the Ouachita. Although ninety-nine colonists settled in the area, the project was halted when Louisiana realized its government treasury did not have enough funds to see the colonization to fruition.
When Louisiana's sale from France to the United States was finalized, he moved to Texas and received a permit to establish a colony between Bexar and the Trinity River. He moved to San Antonio in 1806, where he posed as a loyal subject who strongly opposed the sale of Louisiana to the USA. In 1810 he was appointed second alcalde, (mayor or chief judicial official), of the Spanish town.
...
Wikipedia