Andrew Jackson Isaacks

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Andrew Jackson Isaacks. Born December 3, 1817, in Jackson, Mississippi.

That name, Andrew Jackson, well, it carried a certain weight in that era, and this man set about earning some weight of his own. By 1835 he was fighting in the Texas Revolution. A young man, a long way from Mississippi, standing in the middle of something that would reshape a continent.

He came through it. And Texas, it seems, had a hold on him after that. He stayed.

By 1841 he was serving as sheriff of Jasper County, a job he held through 1842. That is not a position for the faint of heart, sheriffin' in early Texas. Then, also in 1842, he married Miss Sicily Beatty.

The man did not waste a year. Together they built something, a family of eight children, a farm, a ranch, a life rooted deep in the Texas soil. By 1853 he had settled at Tarkington Prairie, in Liberty County, and he became the first postmaster there, serving in that role through 1854.

First postmaster. The man who made sure the words got through. He belonged to the Baptist church, and by all the marker tells us, he was a man of community, a man of place.

He died January 18, 1864, and was buried at Tarkington Prairie. But that is not quite where the story ends. In 1970, his remains were reinterred at the site where this marker now stands.

Andrew Jackson Isaacks, carried home one final time.

What the marker says

(December 3, 1817 - January 18, 1864) Born in Jackson, Mississippi. Fought in the Texas Revolution in 1835. Served as sheriff of Jasper County, 1841-1842. Married Miss Sicily Beatty in 1842. they had eight children. A farmer and rancher, Isaacks was the first postmaster at Tarkington Prairie, 1853-1854, at that time in Liberty County. He belonged to Baptist church. Upon his death he was buried at Tarkington Prairie. Remains were reinterred here in 1970. Recorded - 1970