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Belgians in the Civil War

Emigrants arrival

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BELGIANS   IN   AMERICA:  Belgian settlements by State  

Distribution according to the State of settlement : Texas

HENRY CASTRO colony in Medina County

VICTOR CONSIDERANT colony in Dallas County

HENRY CASTRO colony in Medina County

Henry Castro was born in the department of Landes, France, in July 1786. In 1813, he married a wealthy widow who brought him a dowry of 50,000 francs. After the fall of Napoleon, he immigrated to the United States and in 1827 became a naturalized citizen. He returned to France in 1838 and became a partner in the banking house of Lafitte & Co. After trying to negotiate a loan for the Republic of Texas, in kindness, President Sam Houston appointed him consul general for Texas in Paris. In 1842, he entered into a contract to settle a colony in Southern Texas and between 1843 and 1847, he succeeded in chartering 27 ships, bringing to Texas 485 families and 457 single men for a total of 2.134 settlers. He established the towns of Castroville on the Medina River in September 1844 and Quihi 10 miles to west at Quihi Lake in 1845. Henri Castro was beset with troubles in the summer of 1845, went back to Europe and housed in Antwerp, Belgium. Having successfully defended himself on charges of fraud in France, he found his Texas colony was still faced with serious financial problems. While in Belgium, Castro tried to interest the Belgian government to his colony (see Castro-ville colony in Sources and Documents). The Government delayed his response, waiting for the issue of his trial for fraud. Furthermore, cautioning a society with objective "the exportation of human being" was a great moral responsibility and would be accompanied by a big money deposit as a guarantee to help the colons in case of necessity.  The negotiations having failed, Henry Castro transferred the entire colonization project to a group of Antwerp bankers. Among these was Guillaume D'Hanis, who became the principal administrative agent for the "Société de Colonisation au Texas."  After 1846 D'Hanis was the principal European representative who signed all colonists' contracts. While under his direction the colonists established the town of Vandenburg (named for the consul general of Texas at Antwerp) and, in 1847, the town of D'Hanis.

medina County

The colony suffered from Indian depredations, cholera, and the drought of 1848, but population increased sufficiently for the formation of Medina County that same year. A year later the settlements were given protection from roving Indians when Fort Lincoln was established nearby. In 1881 the town moved one mile west to join the railroad, leaving old D'Hanis to join the list of Texas ghost towns.

In 1865, while on his way to France, Henri Castro became severely ill at Monterey, Nuevo Léon, and died there on November 31, 1865. He was buried in Monterey at the foot of the Sierra Madre.

Among his settlers, some Belgians are known : Joseph Vander Straten, Frank Van Der Stucken and his brother, Felix, immigrated to Texas from Antwerp with Henri Castro in 1846.