Happy Texas Independence Day

So, as I mentioned previously, I wrote this song about my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, whose name is Martin Palmer/Martin Parmer. Known as the Ringtail Panther, he died 160 years ago today, which incidentally is Texas Independence Day.

Parmer, which is how he signed his name on the Texas Declaration of Independence, was far from perfect, much like his contemporaries who organized the Texas Republic.

The things that brought him to Texas included unresolved assault charges in Ohio, a problem with selling booze to Indians in Arkansas, some issues over some land titles in Missouri, and a little problem with the U.S. government, where he might possibly have decided to cash a $500 check for becoming the federal Indian agent for the Little Osage Indians, and then declined the post.

But his importance as a figure in the years leading up to the Texas revolution has been overlooked, in my opinion. I read recently that the descendants of Stephen F. Austin were concerned that Austin's place in Texas history would not be fully recognized, so they worked diligently to make sure his place in history was secure. Parmer's family did not make the same efforts, but at the turn of the 20th century he was still popular enough that he was portrayed in a series of highly successful fiction books. Now, even though he's buried at the Texas State Cemetery, he's hardly mentioned in the cemetery's brochure.

While Austin clearly deserves his title as the Father of Texas, at least one writer is making the argument that Parmer deserves to be elevated to or above the level of another Texas icon, Davy Crockett. Daniel A. Hill, in his recently released book, "Martin Parmer: Lion of the West," says that Parmer was the more widely known figure in the early part of the 19th century, and the 1835 play, "Lion of the West," was more likely based on Parmer than Crockett.

I don't know about that, but I do know that Martin Parmer was the military leader of the first uprising against the Mexican government, a full ten years before the actual Texas revolution, and ten years before Crockett ever thought about moving to Texas.

And, even after the failure of the Fredonian Rebellion and a decade after his supposed banishment, Parmer was still regarded highly enough by his peers that he became the Chairman of the Committee that drafted the Constitution for the Republic of Texas. He was also appointed by the convention at Washington on the Brazos in 1836 as the only man responsible for securing armaments and supplies for the Texas army from the Texas populace — i.e. he was the only legally authorized horse thief in the history of Texas.

Anyway, my song "Ringtail" is my attempt to remind people about a pretty interesting character.

To hear it, go to http://www.myspace.com/georgepmacias. You can also click on the "lyrics" icon and read along. If you have any questions about the lyrics, let me know. you can also check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0SM8MIWyG4 and http://martinparmer.tripod.com/id9.html.

And happy Texas Independence Day!