Professional researcher Cari Taplin works on the project (September 11, 2016)

I wanted to find a researcher in Austin who would be qualified to do research on the military career of James Peter Trezevant during the Texas Revolution, with the hope that a direct link could be found to the Battle of San Jacinto.  I wrote to the Texas State Library and Archive Commission (TSLAC) requesting a list of potential researchers.  Of the ones who responded to my proposal, the most highly qualified one was Cari Taplin.  Her usual focus is genealogy, so she certainly knows the resource facilities available in Austin.  Her website is <www.genealogypants.com>,  She agreed to take on my project, though she was not available until the end of the year.  Cari is an amazingly professional researcher.  She met with Judith Austin Mills to get a sense of what research Judith had already done.  She also took suggestions and leads from Rick Allen and me.  She compiled a detailed research plan, did the research, and submitted two separate reports January 31 and May 4), including numerous pdf documents.  She did not find the “smoking gun” relating JPT to the Battle of San Jacinto.  On the other hand, she found a telling clue to why making that connection is a challenge.  In the papers of Anson Jones, the first president of the Republic of Texas, she found this observation about the Texas army just before San Jacinto: “On the same morning there were at least 100 men in camp, who had not enrolled themselves in any company, but who were ready and prepared to fight, if affasive[sic] measures had been adopted.”  Cari added: “It is possible that JPT was among those who had not yet formally signed up with a new unit after his escape with Hardaway.”  Jerry and I had the pleasure of meeting with Cari in Austin on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.  I can send copies of her reports to anyone who is interested.  R.W.T.