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Sons of the Republic of Texas

Ephraim Daggett Chapter #36

Minutes August 1, 2009

The meeting was called to order by President David Wells and the invocation was offered by Mr. Virgil Ellis. The recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the American and the Texas flags was led by Vice President Jerry Spencer.

                  David Wells                                          Virgil Ellis                                 Jerry Spencer

Membership Chairman Russell Leavens indicated that there are two new applicants are in process and we look forward to their acceptance.

Russell Leavens John Baker

The Ancestral Roll Call was initiated by President Wells and sparked some very interesting discussion. Capt. Jack Hayes’ history came up several times. The other recurring theme was one of ancestral homes that are standing and yet are unavailable to be displayed, as they are on private land. Hopefully the future will make them public. Several wives and guests were welcomed including Mr. John Baker, the editor of the Texian, SRT’s monthly newsletter, who lives in Illinois.

The minutes of the June 6, 2009 meeting were discussed and it was noted that they are available on the Chapter’s web page for review. They were approved by common consent.

A presentation of the Treasurer’s Report was discussed by President Wells, and it appears that the chapter is solvent, with approximately $3,000 in the checking account. Mr. Don Goodman also mentioned the $7.00 fee for breakfast and that the new coffee cups were available for purchase, $10.00 each. He suggested that we use the official SRT cups for coffee and not the Country Club’s cups to encourage sales. No discussion ensued.

Old Business included the announcement that President Wells attended the DRT ceremony June 20, 2009 for the marking of the grave of a Citizen of the Republic of Texas, Napoleon Bonaparte Perry, near Joe Pool Lake. He encouraged us all to participate in these DRT functions. We also discussed the fact that we as a chapter could hold such a ceremony for a site that qualifies.

Further old business included the Archived CDs of SRT’s member applications and their readiness to be presented to the library and to the Federal Archives on Felix Street. The Stephen F Austin Chapter has presented theirs to the public and ours is ready to do so with the development of a date.

New Business included the invitation to join the Davey Crockett Chapter #47 in Granbury, Texas for their meetings as they have a very small attendance that is aging and needs support. This is the tentatively invited date: Sept. 24^th at the restaurant of La Familia. The descendant of Davey Crockett in that Chapter, Kenneth Hendricks, will confirm that date with us soon. It was noted also that the 196^th Anniversary of the Battle of Medina (8/18/1813) will be held in Espy south of San Antonio Aug 22, 2009 and would be a good ceremony for us to attend. More information will be available.

Further new business was related to the need for updated e-mail addresses for the National office of the SRT. There are notices that go out automatically from the email list and these are not published through the mail. It was suggested that we send out a mailer to all those without an address to get theirs updated.

The program was introduced by Admiral D. A. Sharpe, with a very complimentary description of the speaker, Mr. Roger Tate. The informative presentation was inspiring and entertaining as he described “The SRT & Texas- Republic and State.” The presentation began with Moses Austin and moved into the development of land grants and disputes, the Alamo and Mr. Tate’s ancestor G. W. Slaughter (who couriered to Col. Travis) and their family’s history thereafter. A mention of the SRT activities including ceremonies attended, national conventions, speeches and meetings, support to the DRT and activities as ambassadors for Texas at many public functions was interesting. A list of famous Texans was included. The posters, music and discussion sparked were educational. The “XIT” Ranch (Ten in Texas) was an example, as was Candy Barr. The work on this presentation by Mr. Tate and his son was much appreciated.

          Roget Tate                                                                     D. A. Sharpe

Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted

Chris Hull, Secretary