DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, out on the Freestone County road. Now, some men leave a mark on a place just by showing up at the right moment — and Richard B. Haley had a gift for showing up at exactly the right moment.
Born in Tennessee on July 27, 1810, he wasn't yet a teenager when his family pulled up stakes and moved to what we now call Shelby County, Texas. That was 1824, and Texas was a different world entirely. By 1835, the territory was crackling with tension.
Armed resistance to Mexican forces was spreading, and Haley was in it. On November 26 of that year, he was part of the Grass Fight — one of those scrappy, chaotic clashes that doesn't get the glory but gets remembered by the men who were there. And he kept on.
Just two weeks later, on December 10, 1835, he stood with the Texans in victory at San Antonio. Back to back. The man didn't sit out the hard parts.
For his service — as an early colonist and as a soldier — he was given six land grants. Six. That's the Republic's way of saying thank you in the most Texas language possible: dirt and deed.
After 1850, Haley settled into life in Leon and Freestone counties, the kind of country that holds a person once it gets ahold of them. He married twice, raised three children, and carried those decades of hard-won history quietly with him. Richard B.
Haley died on July 19, 1877. He came to Texas before Texas was Texas — and he helped make it what it became.
What the marker says
(July 27, 1810 - July 19, 1877) A veteran of 1835 Texas armed resistance to Mexican forces. Participated in the Grass Fight (Nov. 26), and in victory at San Antonio on Dec. 10, 1835. Haley was born in Tennessee. In 1824, he moved to present Shelby County, Texas. For his services as an early colonist and soldier, he was given six land grants. After 1850 he lived in Leon and Freestone counties. Twice married, he had three children.