DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Now, some men come to Texas looking for a second chance. Charles Standfield Taylor came from a lot further away than most — all the way from London, England, born there in 1808.
You want to talk about a long road to Texas, that's one right there. And once he arrived, he didn't waste a single minute of it. By 1833, Texas wasn't even a republic yet — still tangled up in Mexican governance — and already Taylor was serving as Land Commissioner of Texas.
That's the kind of man we're dealing with. You don't ease into that role. You step up to it.
Then comes 1836. The year everything changed. The year men put their names on paper knowing full well what it might cost them.
Charles Standfield Taylor was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. That's not a footnote. That's the whole story for most men.
But for Taylor, it was just the beginning of the list. 1837 — Chief Justice of Nacogdoches County. 1839 — District Attorney. And then, years later, 1854 — Rio Grande Land Commissioner. From the courts of Nacogdoches to the far edge of the Rio Grande, this man's career stretched across the map of Texas like he was personally trying to fill it in.
He died November 1, 1865. Now, beside every man who built something that lasts, there's usually a story that doesn't get told quite enough. Taylor's wife was Anna Maria Ruoff Taylor.
Born in Germany, March 1, 1814. She came a long way herself — crossed an ocean and built a life here in Nacogdoches. She died February 8, 1873.
Two people, born in two different countries on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and they ended up right here — written into the record of Texas together, side by side, just the way this marker finds them. Erected by the State of Texas in 1936, this one's for both of them.
What the marker says
Land Commissioner of Texas, 1833 A signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836 Chief Justice of Nacogdoches County, 1837 District Attorney, 1839 Rio Grande Land Commissioner, 1854 Born in London, England, 1808 Died November 1, 1865. His wife ANNA MARIA RUOFF TAYLOR Born in Germany, March 1, 1814 Died February 8, 1873. Erected by the State of Texas 1936