DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for the Applewhite Homestead in Wilson County tells it like this, and I'm just here to pass it along. Now, to understand this story, you have to go way back — and I mean way back. Henry Applewhite was born in 1630 and sailed from England to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1656.
The family put down roots in Virginia and stayed there for several generations. But families have a way of wandering, and eventually the Applewhites made their way south. Thomas Applewhite was born in North Carolina in 1791, and he served as a sergeant in the War of 1812.
A man who'd seen some things. In 1842, Thomas married his second wife, Elizabeth Oglesby, born in 1820. And then, in 1853, the Applewhites — accompanied by eight slaves — moved to this part of Texas.
The following year, 1854, they purchased two hundred and fourteen acres of farmland right here. Now here's where the story gets complicated, because it already was complicated. By 1860, the Applewhites owned nine slaves, and some of those enslaved people had taken the Applewhite name.
That fact sits in the middle of this history like a stone you can't move around. And yet — according to local oral tradition — this homestead may have also served as a brief stop for stagecoaches working an alternate route of the Chihuahua Road, that long stretch running from Indianola all the way to San Antonio. May have.
That's the marker's word, and it's an honest one. Thomas Applewhite died in 1864. Elizabeth lived on until 1898.
Both are buried at Concrete Cemetery in La Vernia. But here's what the marker wants you to carry with you when you drive away: a number of Applewhite families — descendants of African Americans who established homes here during the 1860s — remained in this area for many generations. That name, that land, that place.
Theirs too. As for the original stone house Thomas and Elizabeth built? It was mostly destroyed during highway construction in the 1950s.
The road that carries you past this marker may well have taken it. Some things get buried. Some things endure.
The Applewhite Homestead held both.
What the marker says
The family of Henry Applewhite (1630-1704), who sailed from England to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1656, remained in Virginia for several generations. Applewhite's descendant, Thomas Applewhite, was born in North Carolina in 1791 and served as a sergeant in the War of 1812. In 1842 Thomas married his second wife, Elizabeth Oglesby (1820-1898). The Applewhites, accompanied by eight slaves, moved to this area of Texas in 1853. They purchased 214 acres of farmland here in 1854 and by 1860 the Applewhites owned nine slaves, some of whom had taken the Applewhite name. According to local oral tradition, at one time the Applewhites' homestead may also have served as a brief stop for stagecoaches traversing the area along an alternate route of that part of the Chihuahua Road extending from Indianola to San Antonio. Thomas (d. 1864) and Elizabeth Applewhite are buried in La Vernia in Concrete Cemetery. A number of Applewhite families, the descendants of African Americans who established homes here during the 1860s, remained in the area for many generations. Thomas and Elizabeth Applewhite's original stone house was mostly destroyed during highway construction in the 1950s. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995