A year later he abandoned his wife, son, and unborn daughter (Susan Isabella) and departed for Texas. The story has been told that Travis suspected his wife of infidelity, doubted his parenthood of her unborn child, and killed a man because of it.

Historically, William Barret Travis—the famous commander at the Alamo—left his wife, Rosanna Cato, in 1831 under a cloud of personal and financial turmoil. The primary reason cited by historians is a breakdown of trust; Travis reportedly suspected Rosanna of infidelity, though these claims remain debated and were never definitively proven. Additionally, Travis was facing significant mounting debts in Alabama and a failing law practice, making the promise of the "Texas Frontier" an attractive escape for a fresh start. He left Rosanna while she was pregnant with their second child, heading to Texas to establish himself as a lawyer and land speculator. By the time he died at the Alamo in 1836, he was a different man—a revolutionary leader—but his departure from his family remains one of the more controversial chapters of his life, often interpreted by modern biographers as a mix of wounded pride, economic desperation, and a restless, ambitious spirit.