DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Oldham County and the man it honors. W. S.
Oldham. Born 1813, died 1868. Legislator, judge, newspaperman.
A man who wore a lot of hats, and apparently wore them all at once. He came to Texas from Arkansas, which is worth noting, because Arkansas wasn't done with him yet. In 1861, Oldham took a seat at the Texas Secession Convention, one of those rooms where history gets made in ways people argue about for generations.
From there he was chosen as a delegate to the provisional Confederate Congress, meeting down in Montgomery, Alabama. And then, still in 1861, Jefferson Davis himself sent Oldham back to Arkansas to work for secession. When you need someone to make the case, you send your best talker.
From 1862 to 1865, Oldham served as a Confederate Senator from Texas. Inside those halls he became an influential defender of states rights, and of granting the president the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. That last one, the power to hold a man without the courts intervening, that was not a small debate.
That was the kind of argument that cuts right to the bone of what a government is and what it can do to the people under it. Oldham argued his position with influence enough to be remembered. And remembered he is.
This county, stretching out across the Texas Panhandle, carries his name as a memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. The land is quiet now. The debates are not.
What the marker says
(Star and Wreath) Legislator, judge, newspaperman. Came to Texas from Arkansas. Member 1861 Texas Secession Convention. Chosen delegate to provisional Confederate Congress, Montgomery, Ala. Sent Arkansas to work for secession by Jefferson Davis 1861. Texas Confederate Senator 1862-1865. Influential defender of of states rights, and granting president power to suspend writ of habeas corpus. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy.