Charles Fordtran

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to honor every word. Now, if you want a life that stretches across nearly a full century of Texas history — and I mean the wild, bloody, founding kind — you pull up a chair and you listen close to the story of Charles Fordtran. Born May 7, 1801.

Died November 1, 1900. You heard that right. The man was present for almost everything.

He was a German of Huguenot descent, and in January of 1831, Charles Fordtran joined the colony of Stephen F. Austin. This was early days, friends.

The ink was barely dry on the whole Texas experiment. His first order of business was to survey land for Austin's partner, Samuel May Williams. For that work, Fordtran was given a league — four thousand, four hundred and twenty-eight point four acres — as his fee.

That is a serious piece of ground for a serious piece of work. And he didn't stop there. He soon brought in two families of settlers who worked for him for a time, then went on to obtain their own land in what is now Fayette County.

A man building something, piece by piece. On July 4, 1834, Charles Fordtran married Almeida Brookfield — born 1817, died 1887 — daughter of a noted Indian-fighting family. Which, as it turned out, was not just a piece of family history.

It was a relevant credential, because Fordtran himself fought Indians who stole livestock and kidnapped the wives and children of colonists. This was not a peaceful frontier. It demanded something fierce, and Fordtran gave it.

Then came the Texas war for independence. Charles Fordtran joined the Spy Rangers under Captain John Bird, defending civilians who were fleeing to escape the Mexican invaders. Think about that for a moment — while others were running, these men put themselves between the danger and the innocent.

That's the kind of detail that doesn't need embellishment. Now here's something worth sayin' out loud: Charles Fordtran was one of the first Teutonic settlers in Texas, arriving some years before the main tide of German immigration. He was ahead of the wave.

A scout in every sense. Back home, the marker tells us, music and good living abounded in his house. He and Almeida had fourteen children together.

Nine of them lived to adulthood — which, given the era, speaks to something resilient in that family. Of four sons who served in the Confederate army during the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, two survived. Two did not come home.

That's the kind of sentence you sit with. His descendants went on to make contributions to Texas history as industrialists, engineers, lawyers, physicians, and teachers. The man planted something that kept growing long after he was gone.

And here's what I love about where this marker stands: it stands on the very land Charles Fordtran received in 1831. The same ground he was given as payment for surveying the early colony. Whatever you're standin' on right now — or drivin' past — that ground remembers him.

Nearly a hundred years of Texas history, lived by one man. Charles Fordtran. January 1831 to November 1, 1900.

Start to finish, he was here for it.

What the marker says

(May 7, 1801-Nov. 1, 1900) In Jan. 1831 Charles Fordtran, a German of Huguenot descent, joined the colony of Stephen F. Austin. His first work was to survey land for Austin's partner, Samuel May Williams. He was given a league (4,428.4 acres) as his fee. Soon he brought in two families of settlers who worked for him for a time, then obtained their own land in present Fayette county. On July 4, 1834, he married Almeida Brookfield (1817-1887), daughter of a noted Indian-fighting family. Fordtran also fought Indians who stole livestock and kidnapped the wives and children of colonists. In the Texas war for independence, he joined the "Spy Rangers" under Capt. John Bird, defending civilians who were fleeing to escape the Mexican invaders. Charles Fordtran was one of the first Teutonic settlers in Texas--arriving some years before the main tide of German immigration. Music and good living abounded in his home. He and his wife had 14 children, with nine living to adulthood. Of four sons in the Confederate army during the Civil War (1861-1865) two survived. His descendants have made contributions to Texas history as industrialists, engineers, lawyers, physicians, and teachers. This marker stands on land he received in 1831. (1976)