David G. Burnet (1788-1870) was a federalist lawyer and politician of American origin. He is remembered for holding the presidency during the interim government of the Republic of Texas in 1836 and again in 1841..
He was also second vice president of the Republic of Texas and Secretary of State after Texas became part of the United States of America, a hero who also had his detractors, especially as a result of his forgiveness of Antonio López de Santa Anna, avoiding its execution.
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David G. Burnet was born on April 14, 1788, in Newark, New Jersey. He was the fourteenth child of Dr. William Burnet and the third of his second wife, the widow Gertrude Gouverneur Rutgers..
Both parents died when he was just a child so he was raised by his older brothers. After receiving a classical education at an academy in Newark, Burnet wanted to join the navy, but did not follow suit..
At 17 he became an employee of a New York counting house known as Robinson and Hartshorne. Although it was not a job to his liking, when the company ran into financial difficulties, he gave up his entire personal inheritance, $ 1,300, to try to save the company..
In 1806 he participated as a volunteer in an expedition led by Francisco de Miranda, for the independence of Venezuela, but it was also an unsuccessful attempt. However, he maintained his fight in Chile in 1807 and again in Venezuela in 1808, until Miranda broke relations with Simón Bolívar and decided to return to his country in 1812..
That year he came to the home of two of his older brothers in Cincinnati, Ohio, and began his law studies..
In 1817 he opened a merchant business in Natchitoches, Louisiana, but fell ill with tuberculosis. Her doctor suggested she move to a dry climate that could improve her health, so she decided to head to Texas..
On the way he had an accident with his horse and after being rescued by the Comanche Indians he lived with them for a couple of years.
He later returned to Cincinnati to practice law for a time and there he wrote a series of articles for the Literary Gazette, in which he narrates the years he was living with the Indians.
In 1826 Burnet moved to the Stephen F. Austin colony in Mexican Texas. There he spent a little over a year and a half providing legal advice to the settlers and organizing the first Presbyterian Sunday School program..
The following year, Burnet received a land grant to establish 300 families in East Texas, northwest of Nacogdoches, an area that had already been settled by the Cherokee..
However, in 1828 he was forced to sell them and return to the United States because he could not attract enough settlers. The sale of his land to Galveston Bay and the Texas Land Company was for the hefty sum of $ 12,000.
He spent two years in the United States, during which time he married and bought a steam engine to open a sawmill. His plan was to go back to Texas.
He established his sawmill on 10 hectares of land along the San Jacinto River, in an area that became known as Burnet's bay.
Once in the place, the Mexican law gave him a subsidy because his factory was of public service, but they forced him to convert to Catholicism. Faced with Burnet's refusal, the Mexican authorities canceled the subsidy. In 1830 he had to sell the steam engine and sawmill at a loss, but this time he did remain in Texas..
In 1833 Burnet was the delegate of a committee that asked the Mexican Congress to separate from Texas. Shortly after that request, Antonio López de Santa Anna became president of Mexico and declared himself dictator in 1835.
During that time, Burnet became known as Judge Burnet, as he was the first judge of the Austin district and organized a court in San Felipe..
In November 1835 the consultation of San Felipe was held in which they took the initiative to form a provisional state government, but that attempt never came to fruition..
In early 1836 Burnet decided to support William Barret Travis's plea for help at the Alamo and set about recruiting supporters for the cause. On March 2, 1836, the representatives of the Texas colony had signed independence, at the well-known Washington-on-the-Brazos convention. Unexpected circumstances led to Burnet being elected interim president.
Meanwhile, the Mexican army under the command of General Antonio López de Santa Anna managed to control the Alamo.
Burnet's first order was the capital of the new state from Washington-on-the-Brazos to Harrisburg. This order generated the massive evacuations of Texas residents fleeing the Mexican army, an event known as Runaway Scrape. The new Republic of Texas and much of the civilian population fled east.
It was not until the decisive Battle of San Jacinto that the independence success of Texas was marked. Santa Anna was defeated and taken prisoner, signing the Treaty of Velasco, which granted the independence of Texas.
Meanwhile, the Burnet government, which experienced much of the revolutionary chaos, received strong rejection when it refused to execute Santa Anna. Texans asked to be arrested for treason and Burnet decided to resign in October 1836 and not run for election..
In 1838 he served as Vice President and the following year he was the first Acting Secretary of State..
In 1840 Burnet became interim president again when the elect Mirabeau B. Lamar took leave to seek medical treatment in New Orleans. He later ran for president but was defeated by his strong opponent, Sam Houston..
After the Republic of Texas successfully integrated into the United States, Burnet became the first Secretary of State under Governor James Pinckney Henderson..
Burnet's last public office was delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868.
When Texas joined the United States, Burnet's life was in great turmoil. On the one hand, politically, the strong opposition from Houston was affecting his career..
On a personal level, Burnet was saddened by the death of one of his sons in 1836, which worsens when his wife dies in 1865 and a few months later his other son is murdered. He was totally alone and without family.
In his later years, Burnet suffered from senility. On December 7, 1870, at the age of 82, David G. Burnet passed away in Galveston, Texas. His remains are buried in the Lakeview Cemetery, located in the Texas city..
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