Nolan, Philip, 1771-1801

Born to Peter and Elizabeth (Cassidy) Nolan in Ireland, Philip Nolan (1771-1801) became a noted mustanger and possible filibuster in Spanish Texas. Before arriving in Texas, Nolan worked as a bookkeeper and shipping clerk for General James Wilkinson in Kentucky and New Orleans, where he learned of business opportunities in Texas. Nolan began mustanging in 1791, though suspicions grew among Spanish authorities about his true intentions due to his connections with Wilkinson and illegal trade. A year after marrying Frances Lintot in 1799, Nolan set out with a group of well-armed men on his fourth expedition to catch horses in Texas. After building a small fortification and corrals, Nolan began catching mustangs. He was killed, however, in March 1801 by Spanish forces sent to intercept him, while his captured men were tried and imprisoned.

Trader.

Philip Nolan, a native of Belfast, Ireland, was a contraband trader in the Louisiana Territory and Texas. He was closely associated with General James Wilkinson and may have been reared in his family. In 1799, he married Frances Lintot (d. 1801) of Natchez. Nolan acted as an agent in Wilkinson's tobacco trade in New Orleans, procured horses for the Spanish army making horse trading ventures into Texas, and was suspected of spying and plotting with Wilkinson for the conquest of Mexico. After meeting the surveyor Andrew Ellicott, he worked on mapping regions in the Natchez area and in North Texas. Nolan lived among Native Americans in Texas and drove wild horses from Texas for sale in Natchez and Kentucky, although he was legally entitled to sell horses only to Spanish cavalry in Louisiana. Nolan was killed in a Spanish attempt to arrest him for his contraband trading.

Born to Peter and Elizabeth (Cassidy) Nolan in Ireland, Philip Nolan (1771-1801) became a noted mustanger and possible filibuster in Spanish Texas.

Before arriving in Texas, Nolan worked as a bookkeeper and shipping clerk for General James Wilkinson in Kentucky and New Orleans, where he learned of business opportunities in Texas. Nolan began mustanging in 1791, though suspicions grew among Spanish authorities about his true intentions due to his connections with Wilkinson and illegal trade. A year after marrying Frances Lintot in 1799, Nolan set out with a group of well-armed men on his fourth expedition to catch horses in Texas. After building a small fortification and corrals, Nolan began catching mustangs. He was killed, however, in March 1801 by Spanish forces sent to intercept him, while his captured men were tried and imprisoned.