DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along — here's the story of Ashbel Smith, M.D. Now, some men drift into history sideways. Ashbel Smith came at it head-on.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1805, he wasn't the kind of man who sat still long enough to let the world catch up with him. He took his degree from Yale Medical College in 1828, then crossed an ocean to study medicine in France — because apparently Yale and Hartford weren't quite enough to satisfy him. He came back to practice in North Carolina, and that might've been the end of the story.
Respectable career, quiet life, maybe a portrait over a fireplace somewhere. But then word reached him about what was happening in Texas in the mid-1830s, and something in Ashbel Smith shifted. He determined to go to Texas — that's not my word, that's the word the record uses — determined.
Like a man who's made up his mind before the sentence is finished. He arrived in 1837. Too late for the revolution, as it turned out.
Too late by just a hair. Now that would deflate some men. Not this one.
He was appointed surgeon-general of the Texas army, and he built himself a home one mile east of where this marker stands — a place he called Evergreen Plantation. And from that homestead, the résumé just keeps going. The Republic of Texas named him secretary of state.
Then minister to Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Spain — four countries, one man, one republic that was still figuring out whether it was going to survive the decade. When Texas came into the Union and attained statehood, Smith turned around and served several terms in the State Legislature. He wasn't done with public life; public life wasn't done with him.
The Civil War found him too. He was elected captain of the Bayland Guards, then colonel of the 2nd Texas Infantry of the Confederate army. Physician, diplomat, statesman, and now soldier — there's a pattern here, and it's called not sitting still.
But maybe the thread that runs deepest through all of it is education. Ashbel Smith served as president of the first Board of Regents of the University of Texas, and he led the push to establish its medical branch in Galveston. The man who crossed an ocean to learn medicine ended up helping build the institution that would teach it to generations of Texans.
He died at his home on Evergreen Plantation — the same ground where he'd planted himself back when Texas was still finding its feet. Born in 1805, died in 1885, and buried in the state cemetery in Austin. A physician, a statesman, a soldier, an educator — and by any fair accounting, one of the men who helped hold Texas together while it figured out what it wanted to be.
What the marker says
(1805-1885) Born in Hartford, Connecticut, this prominent physician, statesman, soldier, and educator received his degree from Yale Medical College in 1828. After a period of study in France, Smith returned to the United States to practice medicine in the state of North Carolina. He determined to go to Texas upon hearing news of the events of the mid-1830s and arrived in 1837, too late to participate in the revolution. He soon, however, was appointed surgeon-general of the Texas army and established a home, known as Evergreen Plantation, one mile east of this site. Smith later served the Republic of texas as secretary of state and as minister to Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Spain. After Texas attained statehood, Smith served several terms in the State Legislature. A Civil War veteran, he was elected captain of the Bayland Guards and colonel of the 2nd Texas Infantry of the Confederate army. Also noted for his work in higher education, Ashbel Smith served as president of the first Board of Regents of the University of texas and led support for establishment of its medical branch in Galveston. A significant leader during Texas' formative years, Ashbel Smith died at his home on Evergreen Plantation and is buried in the state cemetery in Austin.