Felipe Enrique Neri (born November 23, 1759 in Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana) was a Dutch businessman and land owner known for his assistance in Anglo-American settlement of Texas.
Personal life
His name was Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel when he was born. He changed his name later on in his life 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 Holland 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.
In North America
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 a many of 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, and after Louisiana's sale to France, moved to Texas and received a permit to establish a colony between the Bexar River and Trinity River.
He moved to San Antonio in 1806, where he said that he was a loyal subject who strongly opposed the sale of Louisiana to the USA. In 1810 he was appointed second alcalde, which means the mayor or chief judicial official of a Spanish town.
In 1820, Neri met with Moses Austin, whose request to bring Anglo-American settlers into Texas had recently been rejected. He recognized Moses, since he had shared the hospitality of a roadhouse in then-Spanish Missouri with Moses 20 years before he came to Texas. Neri used his influence to help Moses Austin, and later Stephen F. Austin obtain grants to bring Anglo-American settlers into Texas, later to be called the Old Three Hundred.
In 1820, Neri was chosen to be commissioner of colonization for Stephen F. Austin’s colony. In 1823, he was elected to the provincial deputation of San Antonio, and later the Legislature of Coahuila y Tejas in 1824. Until his death on February 23, 1827, he served the legislature. He did not leave enough money for his burial, so other legislative members paid for it. In his will, he left land to his wife and children in Holland. Years later, his true identity was revealed. Neri was a very important and influential person in the colonization of Texas. Without him, Texas might have never been populated with Anglo-American settlers.
Sources
- Moore, Richard W. Bastrop, Baron de, Handbook of Texas Online.
- The Baron de Bastrop, The Institute of Texan Cultures
- Rogers, Tex; American History, The Old 300, Electric Scotland
- Bastrop, Lone Star Internet
- Felipe Henique Neri Baron de Bastrop, Flickr.com
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