DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this one, and I'm just Duane, passing it along the way it was written. Now, some men wander into history sideways — wrong place, wrong time, and somehow everything changes. Claiborne West wasn't one of those men.
Born in Franklin County, Tennessee, in 1800, he was the kind of fellow who seemed to walk straight into the center of things, every single time. He moved as a young man to Louisiana, married Anna Garner in 1824, and before long the two of them had nine children. In 1825, the whole West family — and that was some considerable family — immigrated to what would become southeast Texas and received a land grant in the Cow Bayou settlement.
New ground. New country. And as it turned out, a new nation in the making.
West didn't sit still for long. He joined the struggle for independence from Mexico, and as one of the representatives from Liberty Municipality, he showed up at the 1832 Convention and then again at the 1835 Consultation at San Felipe de Austin. He was responsible for the designation of Cow Bayou as Jefferson Municipality — the forerunner of what would become Jefferson and, later, Orange County.
He served as a representative from the municipality to the General Council and acted as local postmaster. The man wore a lot of hats. But here's the moment that puts Claiborne West's name in the permanent record.
March 2nd, 1836. Washington-on-the-Brazos. The General Convention.
West was one of fifty-eight men who put their names to the Texas Declaration of Independence. Fifty-eight signatures that drew a line between what Texas was and what it intended to be. And when that declaration needed a government to stand behind it, West helped draft the Republic of Texas Constitution.
From July to October of 1836, he served in Franklin Hardin's Company of volunteers. Then he went on to serve in the first Congress of the Republic of Texas. The man signed the birth certificate, helped write the rules, and then showed up to govern.
That's a full hand. In time, West moved from here to Montgomery County and later settled in Seguin. He died in 1866, and they buried him in the Riverside Cemetery at Seguin.
Born in Tennessee, raised toward Louisiana, settled in Texas when Texas was still just a notion somebody dared to write down — Claiborne West signed his name to that notion, and it held.
What the marker says
(1800-1866) Born in Franklin County, Tennessee, Claiborne West moved as a young man to Louisiana. He married Anna Garner in 1824 and they had nine children. His family immigrated to this area in 1825 and received a land grant in the Cow Bayou settlement. Soon West joined in the struggle for independence from Mexico. As one of the representatives from Liberty Municipality, he attended the 1832 Convention and the 1835 Consultation at San Felipe de Austin. West was responsible for the designation of Cow Bayou as Jefferson Municipality, the forerunner of Jefferson and later Orange County. He served as a representative from the municipality to the General Council and acted as local postmaster. At the General Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, West was one of 58 signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He helped draft the Republic of Texas Constitution. From July to October, 1836, West served in Franklin Hardin's Company of volunteers. He then served in the first Congress of the Republic of Texas. West moved from here to Montgomery County and later settled in Seguin. He was buried in the Riverside Cemetery at Seguin. (1979)