DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some folks leave a mark on Texas history with a sword or a speech. Dilue Rose Harris left hers with a pen — and thirty thousand words that historians have been grateful for ever since.
Born in 1825, Dilue Rose came to Texas in 1833, when the Republic was still a dream being argued over at gunpoint. She was there for the Texas Revolution, and she remembered it. She remembered all of it.
And when she sat down to write her 'Reminiscences,' she didn't hold back — thirty thousand words, published in the quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, laying out what life in Texas truly looked like during those years. Not a politician's version. Not a general's version.
Hers. That kind of testimony doesn't come along every day. In 1839, she married Ira Harris, born in 1816, and the two of them set about building a life together — the kind of life that unfolds slowly, through seasons and decisions and a whole lot of hard work.
They moved to Columbus in 1845. Then, in 1858, they built this very house, right here where you're standing, and they raised nine children within these walls. Nine.
You think about the noise, the meals, the stories told around a table that had to keep getting bigger. Ira Harris passed in 1869. Dilue herself lived on until 1914.
Both of them are buried in the Columbus City Cemetery, together still. But Dilue Rose Harris is not just a grave in a cemetery. She is thirty thousand words that survived her, words that gave Texas something it desperately needed — a witness.
What the marker says
Dilue Rose Harris (1825-1914) is best known for her journal writings concerning events of the Texas Revolution. Her 30,000 word "Reminiscences" were published in the "quarterly" of the Texas State Historical Association, and have provided a valuable source of information about Texas at that time. Dilue Rose came to Texas in 1833, and was married to Ira Harris (1816-1869) when she was almost 14 years old in 1839. They moved to Columbus in 1845, built this house in 1858 and reared nine children while living here. Dilue and Ira Harris are buried in the Columbus City Cemetery.