Susanna Dickinson couldn’t have been more startled. She
nervously entered the boardinghouse bedroom. Seated before her was the
President of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, supporting her infant
daughter Angelina on his knee. He smiled and gestured for her to sit down in his
polished yet autocratic manner. The Alamo had fallen and its garrison of 200 was wiped out. Her
husband, Captain Almeron Dickinson, was among the dead. The only survivors were
herself, Angelina, two slaves, and 20 Mexican women and children. Each adult female survivor was given two
silver coins and a blanket before being sent on their way. El Presidente had
something special in mind for Susanna. He offered to adopt Angelina, take her and
her mother to Mexico City, and have Angelina educated at Mexico City’s finest schools.
After witnessing the barbarity of Santa Anna’s "Army of Operations," it would
seem El Presidente’s offer would be a no-brainer, accepting what would be the best
for her and her daughter instead of poverty, Comanche raids, and the widespread
destruction wrought by Santa Anna’s army. Without a moment’s thought on the
offer, she refused. Gathering her daughter and what few belongings they had, she
headed east from San Antonio toward Gonzales and a hopeful rendezvous with Sam
Houston’s growing army. It was the beginning of a string of unfortunate relationships
for the celebrated sole survivor of the Alamo.
Susanna
and Almeron
Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson was born about 1814 in
Williamson County, Tennessee. On May 24, 1829, she eloped wih Almeron Dickinson,
a man twice her age. She was only 15 years old. Like many Tennesseans, the young couple
was drawn to the cheap land and promising opportunities offered by the Mexican state
of Texas. Along with fifty-four other
settlers, they traveled to Texas by schooner from New Orleans. A league of land
was given to them by Green DeWitt near Gonzales, Texas in 1833. Little is known
about their life in Gonzales except they took in boarders, Almeron worked as a
blacksmith, and possibly had part-ownership in a hat factory. All that would
change with the coming of the Texas Revolution.
In October 1835, when Mexican troops demanded the return of
a small cannon lent to Gonzales to help defend against Comanche raids, the residents
refused. After a brief exchange of musket fire, the Mexicans retreated to San Antonio. Almeron
joined a company of volunteers under the command of Stephen F. Austin. Susanna
remained behind until November when passing Texas volunteers ransacked her home.
Alone, illiterate, and nursing an infant daughter, Susanna
journeyed to San Antonio and the comforting arms of her husband. Almeron and
his fellow Texans had recently forced the Mexican garrison to leave the city. Under the joint command of William Barret Travis
and Jim Bowie, the Texans garrisoned themselves in a crumbling,17th
century Spanish mission – the Alamo. Susanna and her husband took up residence
in the home of Francisca Castaneda and Ramon Musquiz. Among their boarders was the
famed Tennessean Davey Crockett, who loved to entertain his fellow Tennesseans with
his fiddle.
The Alamo
On February 23,1836, Santa Anna’s army entered San Antonio. Almaron galloped up to the Musquiz house, calling out to Susanna, “give me the babe and jump up behind me.” Together on horseback, they galloped into the Alamo where Almeron commanded the artillery. For thirteen days, Santa Anna laid siege to the Alamo’s vastly outnumbered defenders. Susanna and Angelina stayed in the sacristy. On March 6, 1836, Santa Anna’s army attacked the Alamo from all sides. A Mexican bugler blew the Deguello, a Moorish bugle call to remind the Mexican troops that no quarter would be given. During the battle, Captain Dickinson informed his wife that all was lost and expressed hope that she could save herself and the child. She would never see him again.
Along the way, Susanna ran into Joe, Travis’ former slave, who was spared from execution by Santa Anna. They eventually reached Gonzales, bearing a letter from Santa Anna to Sam Houston. It
contained a dire threat for Houston and his Texans. A threat that would
horribly backfire on the coastal prairie of San Jacinto.
Searching For a Husband
Relying on the goodwill of fellow Texans, Susanna and
Angelina survived, but in the Republic of Texas, it was man’s world. Having little to no skills to earn a living, she needed a husband. To make
matters worse, the dead broke Texas government refused her request for a
pension. Her choice for a husband was John Williams, whom she married on
November 27,1837. Williams proved to be an abusive drunk who beat Susanna and
Angelina to the point she had to divorce him.
She was granted a divorce, probably the first ever in Harrisburg County.
The marriage lasted less than two years. Husband number three was Francis P.
Herring from Georgia. Within five years, he was dead from disease. Susanna
worked as a laundress and housekeeper, always on the lookout for the next
husband. One employer and friend provided a stable means of support, but at a
controversial locale.
Pamelia
In a time where women were expected to be virtuous, marry, stay at home, and have children, the Texas Republic had its notable exceptions. Pamelia Mann was certainly one of them. Unlike Susanna, Pamelia had the business sense and ambition to thrive in a frontier environment. Settling in San Felipe with her husband Marshall and their two boys, she ran an inn near Washington-on-the-Brazos. Forced to evacuate her home because of Santa Anna’s invasion, she headed east by herself with her two boys and several slaves. In need of transport for his artillery, Sam Houston impressed her oxen with the promise of returning them. Not one to rely on mere promises, Pamelia chased him down and demanded their return when the Texas army made an unplanned detour away from the retreating civilians on the Nacogdoches Road. Brandishing a knife and a white-hot temper, she cut the oxen from their traces. Taken aback by the fiery Pamelia, Houston let her have the oxen.
With the money she had, she purchased the Mansion House Hotel in the new capital of the Republic of Texas – Houston. Close to the Texas capitol, it became a favorite boarding house and watering hole for politicians, army officers, local officials and frontiersmen looking for a bath and a soft mattress. Among the Mansion House amenities was a bevy of prostitutes which subsequently led to a string of arrest warrants and lawsuits that Pamelia managed to fight off, mostly due to her popularity, charitable sense, and notable customers, which included Sam Houston. If customers got rowdy or roughed up her girls, Pamelia threw them out with the aid of her Bowie knife and revolver.
True Love at Last
On December 15, 1847, Susanna married husband number four, a
Pennsylvania drayman named Peter Bellows. Within ten years, the marriage ended in
divorce. Bellows accused her of adultery and prostitution because of her
employment at the Mansion House. After the divorce, Susanna settled in Lockhart
where she operated a boarding house.
She finally found love with her fifth husband, Joseph
William Hannig. After relocating to
Austin, they opened a furniture store which also served as a a funeral parlor. Hannig expanded into real estate and
built a mansion for her and Susanna at 32nd and Duval. The happiness
that eluded her for most of her young adult life had finally arrived. In 1883, she
died at age 70 and was buried at Austin’s Oakwood Cemetery. Although he
remarried, Hannig chose to be buried next to Susanna.
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