DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — the story of Colonel Roger Q. Mills. Now, some men leave a mark on one place in one moment.
Roger Q. Mills left marks on just about everything he touched, across decades, across states, across the whole arc of what Texas was becoming. Born in Kentucky in 1832, he made his way to Texas in 1849, and from that point on, Navarro County could claim him as its own.
He took up the work of civic and political life early. He represented Navarro County in the Legislature, 1859 and 1860 — and when the winds of secession started blowing hard across the South, Mills was among those who joined in the call for the State Secession Convention in 1861. He didn't just advocate from a distance either.
He joined the 3rd Texas Cavalry, and later served as a colonel in the 10th Texas Infantry. He was wounded — in Tennessee, in Georgia — battles that left marks no man forgets. Now, the war ended, but the story didn't.
Come 1871, Mills was a leader in the Democratic Convention held right there in Corsicana — a convention that started the move to end Reconstruction in Texas. That's the kind of moment that bends history, and Mills was at the center of it. Then came Washington.
He served in the United States Congress from 1873 all the way to 1892. Nearly two decades on the national stage, long enough to put his name on legislation — the Mills Tariff Bill, authored by the man himself. And if you thought Congress was the ceiling, well, in 1892 he moved up to the U.S.
Senate, where he served until 1899. Roger Q. Mills died in 1911, and that marker in Navarro County stands as quiet proof that a man from Kentucky, who arrived in Texas in 1849, managed to shape the state — and the nation — for better than half a century.
What the marker says
(1832-1911) Born in Kentucky. Came to Texas 1849. Civic and political leader. Represented Navarro County in Legislature, 1859-60. Joined in call for State Secession Convention, 1861. Joined 3rd Texas Cavalry. Later a colonel in 10th Texas Infantry. Wounded in Tennessee and Georgia battles. A leader in 1871 Democratic Convention held in Corsicana, which started move to end Reconstruction in Texas. Member United States Congress 1873-92. Author Mills Tariff Bill. In U. S. Senate 1892-99.