Captain William Benson

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Captain William Benson, right here in Uvalde County. Now, some men seem to carry a whole era on their shoulders, and William Benson was that kind of man. Born in Maryland in 1837, he came out of college trained as a civil engineer, which is a fine, precise sort of education.

But Texas had other ideas for him, as Texas usually does. He settled first in Brazoria County, and there he became a teacher. Civil engineer turned schoolteacher.

Already you get the sense this man was not going to fit neatly into any one box. Then the Civil War came, and Benson stepped into something altogether different. He commanded a cavalry regiment, and he did it as one of the youngest captains in the Confederacy.

Let that settle in for a moment. One of the youngest. That is not a small distinction in a war that had no shortage of men willing to lead.

When the war was done, Benson came to Uvalde, and he went back to what he knew: teaching school. But he was not done moving yet. Around 1874, he and his wife Felicia, born a Yeiser, pulled up and moved to this very site.

They lived in a log house while they waited, and that wait had a payoff, because around 1881 the proper residence was completed right here. And then William Benson, civil engineer, schoolteacher, cavalry captain, put his engineering mind to work on the land itself. He became a leader in early irrigation projects in this region, the kind of work that quietly shapes whether a community survives dry years or doesn't.

He kept serving this community all the way until his death in 1922. Born in Maryland in 1837, died in Uvalde in 1922. Engineer, teacher, soldier, irrigator.

Some men just keep finding the thing that needs doing next, and they do it.

What the marker says

Maryland native William Benson (b. 1837) came to Texas after graduating from college as a civil engineer. After settling in Brazoria County he became a teacher. During the Civil War he commanded a cavalry regiment as one of the youngest captains in the Confederacy. Benson later came to Uvalde, where he again taught school. About 1874 he and his wife, Felicia (Yeiser), moved to this site and lived in a log house until this residence was completed about 1881. A leader in early irrigation projects, Benson continued to serve the community until his death in 1922. 1983