Fisher, Rebecca Jane Gilleland, 1831-1926

Called the Mother of Texas, Rebecca Jane Gilleland Fisher (1831-1926), was born in Philadelphia on August 31, 1831, the daughter of Johnson Gilleland and Mary Barbour. Fisher moved with her family to Texas around 1837. Her father fought in the Texas Revolution under Captain Thomalson. Living near Don Carlos Rancho in Refugio County, the Gilleland family was attacked by members of the Comanche tribe in 1840. The Comanche murdered her parents and captured Fisher and her brother, William. Enduring captivity, they were rescued by Albert Sidney Johnston and a unit of Texas soldiers, and eventually sent to live with their aunt, Jane Trimble, in Galveston. From 1844 to 1848, Fisher attended Rutersville College in Fayette County. Upon her graduation, she married Orceneth Fisher, a Methodist minister, with whom she had six children. In 1855, Fisher accompanied her husband to the Pacific coast, where he worked as a pastor in California and Oregon for sixteen years. In 1871, they returned to Texas and resided in Austin.

After returning to Texas, Fisher became a charter member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and alongside Clara Driscoll, was instrumental in saving and preserving the Alamo. She was president of the William B. Travis chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas for nearly eighteen years. A prominent proponent for political and social issues in Texas, Fisher was asked to present a speech at the unveiling of the Sam Houston monument at Huntsville and also gave the opening prayer at the convening of the Texas legislature for several years. She was the only woman elected to the Texas Veterans Association and the first woman to have her portrait hang in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol. After Fisher’s death on March 21, 1926, her funeral services were held in the Senate Chamber. Fisher was interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin.

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