Haden Edwards

Haden (also spelled Hayden) Edwards (August 12, 1771 – August 14, 1849) was a Texas settler and land speculator. Edwards County, Texas on the Edwards Plateau is named for him. In 1825, Edwards received a land grant from the Mexican government, allowing him to settle families in East Texas. His grant included the city of Nacogdoches, and Edwards soon angered many of the previous settlers. After his contract was revoked in 1826, Edwards and his brother declared the colony to be the Republic of Fredonia. He was forced to flee Texas when the Mexican army arrived to put down the rebellion, and did not return until after the Texas Revolution had broken out.

Haden Edwards was born in Stafford County, Virginia, on August 12, 1771. He was the son of John Edwards, Sr, who later became one of the first two U. S. Senators from Kentucky. Haden Edwards married Susanna Beall of Maryland and they had 13 children born in Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana & Georgia. One of his sons was Haden Harrison Edwards. In 1820 Haden Edwards and his brother Benjamin acquired a plantation near Jackson, Mississippi.

After learning that Mexican authorities were considering opening Mexican Texas to American immigration, Edwards traveled to Mexico City, where he joined forces with Stephen F. Austin, among others, in a 3-year attempt to persuade various Mexican governments to pass a law to allow Americans to settle in Texas.

In 1824 the Mexican federal government passed a General Colonization Law, which for the first time permitted immigration into Texas. Under the terms of the law, each state would set its own requirements for immigration. On March 24, 1825, Coahuila y Tejas passed a colonization law, authorizing large land grants to empresarios who would recruit settlers for a particular colony. Many would-be empresarios had congregated in Mexico to lobby for land grants. Among these was Haden Edwards, an American land speculator who quickly became known for his quick temper and aggressiveness. Despite his abrasive attitude, Edwards was granted a colonization contract on April 14. The contract allowed him to settle 800 families in East Texas. It contained standard language requiring Edwards to recognize all pre-existing Spanish and Mexican land titles in his grant area, to raise a militia to protect the settlers in the area, and to allow the state land commissioner to certify all deeds that Edwards would award.

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