Corpus Christi History
By Murphy Givens

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1999

Kinney tries to conquer Nicaragua

   Henry Lawrence Kinney returned from the war with Mexico to a bleak town with few prospects, but Kinney had ideas.
    At the end of the war, he bought surplus army wagons, mules and horses for pennies on the dollar. He advertised in Eastern papers that Corpus Christi was the ideal jumping off place for the California gold fields. The 49'ers began to arrive and they needed wagons and mules -- just what Kinney had to sell. But the Gold Rush via Corpus Christi played out; it was too hazardous a journey overland from South Texas.
    Kinney's partnership with William Aubrey was dissolved during the war. He brought two brothers from Illinois and established a newspaper, The Ranchero, for brother Somers Kinney to run; the other brother, George, was killed when trying to holster his gun on the way to Austin.
    In 1852, Kinney promoted the "Lone Star Fair" at Corpus Christi to make money and to enlist support for a revolution in northern Mexico. An ally, Jose M. Carbajal, wanted to sever the northern states of Mexico and set up an independent republic. Kinney expected 30,000 visitors would come to the fair; 2,000 came. It was a huge failure as a money-making venture and as a source of recruits for Carbajal, whose revolution also failed. Kinney lost $50,000 on the fair. He was broke.
    Kinney decided to recoup his fortune by starting his own revolution. He would set up his own slave state in Nicaragua. He borrowed money on his land (sometimes mortgaging the same acreage two or three times). He left for New York in September, 1854, to finalize his "filibuster" plans. He was jailed briefly on charges of violating the neutrality act but, finally, he set sail with 100 followers on the "Emma" on June 6, 1855. In a letter to a friend, he wrote, "I expect to make a million dollars."
    The schooner hit a reef and floundered off the Mosquito Coast. The hero side of Kinney took over as he helped to rescue others on the ship and save the provisions. It was a bad start for his venture, but Kinney was not discouraged. He wrote again, saying, "I am at last on Central American soil with 100 men ... This is a beautiful place and is to be the principal of the world. My force will be augmented in the course of three weeks to 2,000 men, when I shall move up country. I have a larger space to act in than I had in Corpus Christi and the result of my undertakings in Central America can hardly be imagined."
    His followers elected him military governor, members of the cabinet were named, and a new flag was raised. But Kinney's venture failed. He dragged on in Central America for two years, but his funds dwindled and his supporters deserted him in favor of another Yankee empire-builder, William Walker of Tennessee.
    Kinney, a broken man, made his way back to Corpus Christi in 1858. He had been gone four years. He was hailed as a hero, despite the bad debts he left behind and the failure of his Nicaraguan expedition.
    Two years later, he was re-elected to the Legislature. In 1861, bankrupt and in bad health, he wrote Abraham Lincoln and offered to be his foreign minister to Mexico. Lincoln didn't respond, so he turned around and made the same offer to Jefferson Davis, who also turned him down.
    Ten years before, Kinney had married Mary B. Herbert, a widow, but they were soon divorced when she learned he had had a longtime affair with a woman in Matamoros, Genoveva Perez. He had a daughter by Genoveva, named Adelina, whom he adopted. (There's a poignant letter from Adelina to M.P. Norton, her guardian. After her mother remarried, Adelina wrote: "I send you a letter to tell you that I am very poor because my mother dont send me some money to a long time ... I want you to send me some money to buy some dresses, and if you please tell me something of my father.")
    Early one morning, in February of 1862, Kinney was killed. Reports said he was shot in the chest during a civil disturbance between rival factions, the Crinolinos and Rohos, in Matamoros, but that skirmish happened weeks after Kinney was slain. The more likely account was that he was shot at the door of his old flame, Genoveva, by a jealous rival.
    The city he founded has never paid much homage to Henry Lawrence Kinney. A short street is named for him and there's an unflattering statue in the county courthouse. Perhaps that's because he was such a rogue at heart, even though at times he could be a hero and a visionary. He failed at most of his undertakings, but the one great endeavor of his life that didn't fail was the founding of Corpus Christi.
This is the last of three parts.
    Sources: Caller-Times archives, including earlier columns by Bill Walraven; "History of Chicago," by A.T. Andreas; "Reminiscenses of a Noted Pioneer," by Howard L. Conrad; "History of La Salle County," by Elmer Baldwin; "History of Nueces County"; "The First State Fair of Texas" by Hortense Warner Ward; "The Life of Henry Lawrence Kinney," a thesis by W.R. Gore; and "Colonel Henry L. Kinney, Founder of Corpus Christi" by Charles G. Norton.