Edwin Waller

Who was Edwin Waller?

Judge Edwin Waller was an entrepreneur, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the first mayor of Austin, Texas, and the designer of its downtown grid plan.

He was born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, United States, in 1800 to a family settled in the state since colonial times when they emigrated from Buckinghamshire, England. His family later settled in Missouri.

In April 1831, he immigrated to the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. On July 20, he received a land grant from the government in present-day Brazoria County. He began a shipping business, transporting cotton from Velasco, Texas, to New Orleans, Louisiana, using his ship, the Sabine, and was once briefly arrested in Velasco for refusing to pay Mexican customs duty.

He very quickly became active in the movement for Texas independence from Mexico. On June 26, 1832, he fought and was wounded at the Battle of Velasco, an early skirmish in the Texas Revolution. In 1833, he became the alcade of Brazoria Municipality. In 1835, he represented the Columbia Municipality at the Consultation in San Felipe de Austin, where he was chosen by the members to serve in the General Council of the Provisional Government of Texas.