DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some men leave a fingerprint on history. Albert Clinton Horton left both hands — and maybe an elbow.
Born in 1798 in Georgia, Horton had already put in time as a member of the Alabama state legislature before Texas even entered the picture. But in 1834, he came to Texas anyway — from Alabama — and set himself up with a plantation along Caney Creek, right here in what's now Wharton County. Man hadn't been here a full year before Texas started calling on him again.
In 1835, he turned around and went back to Alabama. Not to stay — to recruit. He went back to recruit volunteers for the Texas army, and when those men came marching, Horton came with them, serving as colonel of a cavalry unit during the Texas Revolution.
That's the kind of man we're talkin' about. Then the Republic of Texas stood itself up in 1836, and what do you suppose happened? Horton got elected to Congress.
Of course he did. But here's the moment that'll make you sit up straighter. President M.
B. Lamar appointed a commission — and Horton chaired it — to find a permanent home for the capitol of the Republic of Texas. In 1839, that commission selected Austin.
Chew on that one a while. When Texas came into the Union in December of 1845, Horton was elected the very first lieutenant governor of the state of Texas. The first.
And it didn't stop there — he served as acting governor for a full year while Governor Henderson was off leading Texas forces in the Mexican War. So while the governor was in the field, Horton was minding the whole state. Not a bad stretch of work.
That same year — 1845 — Baylor University was founded, and Horton was a charter trustee. The man had a gift for bein' present at beginnings. By the 1850s he had homes in both Wharton and Matagorda, and not far from this very spot stood his home called Sycamore Grove.
That house survived a remarkable amount of Texas history before it was razed in 1960. Some losses arrive late, and they're no less real for it. He helped found Wharton's First Baptist Church.
He and his wife, Elias Holliday, had six children together — and only two of them lived to maturity. That's the kind of grief that doesn't get a historical marker of its own, but it sat in that house at Sycamore Grove same as everything else. Albert Clinton Horton died in 1865 and was laid to rest in Matagorda Cemetery.
He picked the capitol. He was the first lieutenant governor. He helped build the university, the church, and the county.
And the house where he lived — gone since 1960. History has a way of keepin' the records and losin' the walls.
What the marker says
(1798-1865) Georgia native Albert Clinton Horton came to Texas in 1834 from Alabama, where he had served in the state legislature. He established a plantation along Caney Creek in present Wharton County. In 1835, he returned to Alabama to recruit volunteers for the Texas army, and he served as colonel of a cavalry unit during the Texas revolution. Upon the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1836, Horton was elected to Congress. He was chairman of the commission appointed by President M. B. Lamar, which selected Austin as the site for a permanent capitol for the Republic of Texas in 1839. When Texas became a state in December 1845, Horton was elected its first lt. governor. He served as acting governor for a year while Governor Henderson was leading Texas forces in the Mexican war. When Baylor University was founded in 1845, Horton was a charter trustee. By the 1850s, he had homes in both Wharton and Matagorda. His home near this site, "Sycamore Grove," was razed in 1960. A community leader, he helped found Wharton's First Baptist Church. He and his wife, Elias Holliday, had six children, only two of whom lived to maturity. Horton died in 1865, and is buried in Matagorda Cemetery. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986