Will of Robert Clokey, written entirely in Travis’s hand, but not signed, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.5 x 12.5, dated September 14, 1835. In part: “In the name of Almighty God…I Robert Clokey…finding myself by Divine mercy sound & well, both of mind & body, believing and confessing as I do firmly believe & confess the mystery of the Holy Trinity & other sacraments & rites of the Holy Roman Catholic apostolic church, in the true faith & belief of which I have lived, do live, & protest to, live & die as a faithful Christian…to be prepared with a testamentary disposition, when it does arrive;…to avoid clearly those doubts and disputes which for want of such…may be passed after my decease; and not to have any temporal concern at the hour of death to prevent me from asking the God of all truth for the permission for which I hope for of all my sins…Having no legitimate children or other descendants, I leave to my wife, Mrs. Ann Montgomery…all my real and personal estate…together with all inheritances…And for the present I revoke & annul all other testaments or testamentary dispositions, made by me whether verbally or in writing, except this testament.” Signed vertically along the edge of the last page by Clokey. In very good condition, with uniform toning, some heavier spots of toning and foxing, light ink show-through and mirroring, and a fragile hinge. The Robert Davis Collection.
Robert Clokey received a land grant from Stephen Austin as part of the Second Colony on March 28, 1831 and settled in Washington County, Texas. Travis, a lawyer from Alabama, also received a land grant that year and set up law practice in Anahuac, traveling the county doing legal work for Anglo-Americans colonists such as Clokey prior to the Texas Revolution. He also represented the interests of slave-holders who wanted to recapture runaway slaves, dangerous work which put him at odds with the Mexican government. Travis was arrested but later freed when Texan settlers demanded his release, moving his law office to San Felipe. There, in 1834, he was elected secretary to the ayuntamiento and accepted into the government councils.
Tensions between the Anglo-Americans and the army continued to escalate as Domingo de Ugartechea, the Mexican commander of the fort at Velasco, attempted to block the Texans from transporting a cannon to Anahuac. When the fighting ended, about ten Texans and five Mexican troops were dead. A total of 27 were wounded on both sides and Ugartechea and his men returned to Mexico. The 1832 skirmish may have prompted Clokey, who ran a tavern in Velasco, to draw up this will. Clokey signed the will on September 14, 1835 and left everything to his wife, the former Mrs. Ann Montgomery. By 1835 Travis again was involved in the Anahuac troubles. In June, Andrew Briscoe had been jailed for arguing about some new taxes and in response, the fiery Travis gathered a small force and rode to Anahuac with a lone cannon. He ordered the Mexican soldiers out; Briscoe was freed and Travis became a folk hero to Texans who favored independence. RR Auction COA.
