Editing Stephen F. Austin (section)

==Early years==
[[File:Monument to Stephen Austin - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial to Stephen F. Austin in his birthplace]]
Stephen F. Austin was born on November 3, 1793, in the mining region of southwestern Virginia. His parents were [[Mary Brown Austin]] and [[Moses Austin]]. In 1798, his family moved west to the lead-mining region of present-day [[Potosi, Missouri]].<ref name="tsha">{{cite web|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/austin-stephen-fuller|title=Stephen Fuller Austin|series=Handbook of Texas Online|author=Eugene C. Barker|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=February 21, 2022}}</ref> Moses Austin received a ''sitio''<ref>Lonestar Text book</ref> from the Spanish government for the mining site of ''Mine à Breton'', which had been established by French colonists.

His great-great-grandfather, Anthony Austin (b. 1636), was the son of [[Richard Austin (colonist)|Richard Austin]] (b.1598 in [[Bishopstoke]], [[Hampshire]], England). The immigrant ancestors, Richard Austin and his wife Esther, were original settlers of [[Suffield, Massachusetts]], which became Connecticut in 1749.

When Austin was eleven years old, his family sent him back East to be educated, first at the preparatory school of [[Bacon Academy]] in [[Colchester, Connecticut]]. He studied at [[Transylvania University]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky]], from which he graduated in 1810.<ref name=edmondson59>Edmondson (2000), p. 59.</ref> After graduation, Austin began studying to be a lawyer, reading the law with an established firm.<ref name="hto"/>

At age 21, he was elected to and served in the [[Missouri Territory]] legislature. There, he was "influential in obtaining a charter for the struggling Bank of St. Louis".<ref name="hto">{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fau14 |title=Austin, Stephen F. |series=The Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |date=January 11, 2017 |access-date=March 14, 2020 |last=Barker |first=Eugene C.}}</ref> Left penniless after the [[Panic of 1819]], Austin decided to move south to the new [[Arkansas Territory]].<ref name="edmondson59" />

He acquired property on the south bank of the [[Arkansas River]], in the area that would later become [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]]. After purchasing the property, he learned the area was being considered as the location for the new territorial capital, which could make his land worth a great deal more.<ref name="edmondson60">Edmondson (2000), p. 60.</ref> He made his home in [[Hempstead County, Arkansas]]. Austin declared his candidacy for Congress two weeks before the first Arkansas territorial elections in 1820. His late entrance meant his name did not appear on the ballot in two of the five counties, but he still placed second in the field of six candidates. Later, he was appointed as a First Circuit Court judge.<ref name="edmondson60" /> Little Rock was designated as the territorial capital over the next few months. But Austin's claim to land in the area was contested, and the courts ruled against him. The Territorial Assembly reorganized the government and abolished Austin's judgeship.<ref name="edmondson60" />

Austin left the territory and moved to Louisiana. He reached [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] in November 1820. He met and stayed with [[Joseph H. Hawkins]], a New Orleans lawyer and former Kentucky congressman, and made arrangements to study law with him.