Asa Townsend

Duane's take

The official marker tells this one, and I'm just the voice carrying it down the road. Now, some folks plant roots early and stay put. Asa Townsend was not that kind of man.

Born in South Carolina in 1795, he was reared in Georgia, and it was there he married Rebecca Harper. From Georgia, the family moved to Florida, and from Florida, in 1838, they loaded up and headed to Colorado County, Texas. A large family making a long journey, and they weren't done moving yet.

Once Townsend settled in Colorado County, he settled in a particular way. He didn't just farm and keep to himself. He got involved.

He served on the committee to adopt measures for the annexation of Texas to the United States in 1845. Think about what that moment meant. Texas becoming part of something larger, and Asa Townsend sitting on the committee working to make it happen.

He was also a member of the Colorado River Navigation Association. He was active in the Methodist church. He was active in area Masonic lodges.

The man had range, civic and spiritual both. Then came Reconstruction, that hard grinding season after the Civil War when a lot of men went still and waited. Townsend organized ventures into Mexico.

The marker calls them successful, and I see no reason to argue with that. Rebecca Harper Townsend, born in 1805, died in 1857. Asa Townsend lived on until 1876.

Between them, they were the parents of fifteen children. Fifteen. And when it was all said and done, both of them came to rest in the cemetery at Borden, Texas.

South Carolina to Georgia to Florida to Colorado County to the annexation committee to the Mexican ventures, and finally to a quiet cemetery in Borden. Asa Townsend covered some ground.

What the marker says

(1795-1876) Born in South Carolina, Asa Townsend was reared in Georgia, where he married Rebecca Harper (1805-1857). They moved from Florida to Colorado County in 1838 with their large family. An active civic leader, Townsend served on the committee to adopt measures for the annexation of Texas to the U.S. in 1845, and was a member of the Colorado River Navigation Association. During reconstruction he organized successful ventures into Mexico. He was active in the Methodist church and area Masonic lodges. Rebecca and Asa, who were the parents of 15, are interred in the cemetery at Borden, Texas. (1997)