DUANE
Duane's take
The marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Ammon Underwood. Born February 13, 1810, up in Massachusetts — about as far from Texas as a man could get and still be on the same continent.
But Texas had a way of calling people, and by 1834, Ammon had answered. Now before he ever put down roots, the man lived several lives worth of adventure. Odd jobs, the kind that don't make you rich but do make you resourceful.
Two shipwrecks — not one, mind you, two — which tells you something about either Ammon's luck or his stubbornness, and I'll let you decide which. He explored the Texas countryside at a time when that was not a weekend hobby. That was a statement of intent.
And then 1835 rolls around, and Ammon Underwood is standing in the middle of the Siege of Bexar, one of the opening acts of the Texas Revolution. Whatever that experience did to a man, Ammon came through it and made a decision: this is where I stay. He settled here in Brazoria County.
In 1839 he married Rachel Carson, and together they had four children. He opened a mercantile firm — and not a modest one. That business ran for fifty years.
Fifty years of trade, of community, of building something that lasts. Along the way, he counted among his close friends one Anson Jones, who served as President of Texas from 1844 to 1846. That's the kind of company Ammon kept.
But even a thriving enterprise isn't bulletproof. The Civil War came, and with it, Ammon lost a fortune in cotton. Fifty years of careful work, and the war took a piece of it that doesn't come back.
Still, the man wasn't finished. In 1884, Ammon Underwood served in the State Legislature. He died November 17, 1887.
Two shipwrecks. A revolution. Fifty years in business.
A fortune won and partly lost. A seat in the legislature. All of it packed into one life that started in Massachusetts and ended right here in Texas — which, if you think about it, is exactly where Ammon decided it would.
What the marker says
(February 13, 1810 - November 17, 1887) Born in Massachusetts; came to Texas, 1834. As a young man, held odd jobs, survived 2 shipwrecks, and explored Texas countryside. Fought in 1835 Siege of Bexar, Texas Revolution. Then settled here. Married Rachel Carson, 1839, by whom he had 4 children. Ran a thriving mercantile firm for 50 years, but lost a fortune in cotton during Civil War. Anson Jones, President of Texas, 1844-46, was a close friend. Served in the State Legislature in 1884. Recorded - 1970