David W Augustine

[jasonatm]

David W. Augustine, my great great great grandfather. Born 11/9/1837 and died 1/20/1912 in San Angelo, TX. This photo was taken by a photographer with the last name of Eggel in Coleman, TX somewhere close to 1900.

After serving in a Confederate cavalry regiment and being injured in battle during the Civil War, Dave Augustine was one of two trail bosses on the very first cattle drive up what would become known as the Chisholm Trail, which occurred in 1866. Ten years later, the same Dave Augustine was accused of murder after a posse of men shot and killed Dr. Phillip H. Brassell and his son, George in DeWitt County, TX in the last act of violence of the Sutton-Taylor Feud. Dave Augustine long maintained his innocence and fought the charges, but he was still the only man convicted of the murder of Dr. Brassell after multiple trials. A petition for his pardon , purportedly signed by every eligible voter in Dewitt County, TX, was sent to Governor Joseph D. Sayers (also a veteran of the Confederacy), and Dave Augustine was pardoned for the offense with no jail time over 23 years after the murder took place. After this, he relocated his family to Coleman County and later to San Angelo, where he died peacefully.

[jasonatm]

And the following photo was taken of Dave Augustine’s son, John Samuel Augustine (my great great grandfather) and his family. The younger boy on the left is my great grandfather Samuel Lee Augustine. This photo was also taken in Coleman, TX, probably at the same time as the photo of Dave Augustine. Samuel Lee Augustine was born in 1892, so this photo is very likely from around 1900 or just a few years before the turn of the century.