DUANE
Duane's take
The way I heard it, it comes straight from the official marker — so let me tell you the story of Arthur Henry Vollentine. Now, nobody seems to agree on exactly where Arthur Henry Vollentine drew his first breath — the marker hedges between New Jersey and Virginia, and puts it at about 1807. What we do know is that by about 1833, he had made his way to Texas as a colonist of Empresario Martin de Leon.
That right there tells you something about the man. You don't cross into Texas in 1833 because you're playing it safe. In 1834 he married Mary Ann May, a Maryland native, and the two of them set about building a life.
By 1835, Henry had acquired a Mexican land grant on Brushy Creek, near what we now call Yoakum, Texas, and that's where they planted their roots — at least for a little while. Because Texas, in those days, had other plans for men like Arthur Henry Vollentine. From October 1835 through January 1836, he was serving in the Republic of Texas Army at Fort Goliad.
Fort Goliad. If you know your Texas history, that name alone ought to make the hair on your neck stand up. Then came March of 1836, and with it the Runaway Scrape — that desperate, scrambling flight when families abandoned their South Texas homes and ran.
The Vollentines ran too. They ended up in the Nacogdoches district, where they stayed for several years before making their way back to this area by 1840. Mary Ann died about 1841.
And just like that, the life they'd built together — the land grant, the creek, all of it — had a quieter, heavier weight to it. In 1845, Vollentine married again. Her name was Mariah Brown, and she happened to be a cousin of his first wife, Mary Ann.
Mariah's grandfather, Bernard Brown, had donated the land for St. Mary's Church and cemetery in 1841 — the very ground where this story, in a sense, comes full circle. Texas granted Vollentine land on the Lavaca River near Hallettsville in 1846, and between that property and the Brushy Creek grant, the family farmed and ranched across two pieces of this Texas earth.
Their cattle brand was the V5 — simple, direct, and unmistakably theirs. Also in 1846, Lavaca County was created, and Vollentine was appointed one of its very first county commissioners. And in 1852, he was instrumental in the selection of Hallettsville as the county seat.
The man helped decide where the center of things would be — and in Texas, that is no small thing. Arthur H. Vollentine, his wife Mariah, and many of his descendants are buried here.
A man born somewhere between New Jersey and Virginia, who came to Texas about 1833, served at Fort Goliad, survived the Runaway Scrape, farmed two land grants, branded his cattle V5, and helped build a county from scratch. He ended up right here — which, if you ask me, is exactly where a man like that belongs.
What the marker says
Arthur Henry Vollentine was born in New Jersey or Virginia about 1807. He came to Texas about 1833 as a colonist of Empresario Martin de Leon and in 1834 he married Maryland native Mary Ann May. They moved to a Mexican land grant on Brushy Creek near present-day Yoakum, Texas, that Henry had acquired in 1835. From October 1835 through January 1836 Vollentine served in the Republic of Texas Army at Fort Goliad. They left their South Texas home in March 1836 during the Runaway Scrape, lived in the Nacogdoches district for several years, then returned to this area by 1840. Mary Ann died about 1841. In 1845 Vollentine married her cousin, Mariah Brown, whose grandfather Bernard Brown donated land for St. Mary's Church and cemetery in 1841. Texas granted Vollentine land on the Lavaca River near Hallettsville in 1846. They farmed and ranched on their Brushy Creek and Lavaca River properties. The Vollentine cattle brand appeared as V5. Vollentine, appointed one of Lavaca County's first county commissioners soon after its creation in 1846, was instrumental in the selection of Hallettsville as county seat in 1852. Arthur H. Vollentine, his wife Mariah, and many of his descendants are buried here.