Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson

Dickinson grew up poor and illiterate. When she was 15, she married Almaron Dickinson, a blacksmith. The couple arrived in Texas in 1831 and received a land grant along the San Marcos River. They had a daughter, Angelina Elizabeth, in 1834. When the Mexican Revolution broke out in 1835, Almaron joined the army and left for San Antonio. Dickinson and the baby later joined him, opening a boarding house, whose guests included Davy Crockett.

On Feb. 23, 1836, with Mexican troops approaching, the family took refuge in the Alamo. Almaron was killed on March 6 as the Mexicans stormed the fort. After the battle, Dickinson was taken to victorious Mexican general Antonio López de Santa Anna and found Angelina Elizabeth sitting on his lap. He offered to adopt the child and take her to Mexico, but Dickinson refused. Santa Anna sent Dickinson to Sam Houston with a letter of warning against further military action.

After Texas became independent, Dickinson ran a boarding house in Houston and later moved to Austin. In 1857 Dickinson married a prosperous Austin businessman, Joseph William Hannig. It was her fifth and happiest marriage. As the years passed, Dickinson became an important source of information about the Alamo.