DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker tells it, this is the story of El Capote Ranch — and friend, it is some story. It starts, as the best Texas tales do, a long way from Texas. Jose De La Baume was born in 1731, a French army officer who crossed to North America alongside the Marquis De Lafayette and fought in the American Revolution.
That alone would be enough for most men. Not De La Baume. He later joined the Spanish Army, and for his services, he received title in 1806 to twenty-seven thousand acres of Texas land.
That became the original El Capote Ranch. When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, De La Baume's grant was reaffirmed. The man held on.
He was born in 1731 and did not die until 1834. Let those years sit with you a moment. Virginia-born Michael Erskine came into the picture in 1840, acquiring the property and setting about raising cattle.
He drove his herds all the way to California and to New Orleans — routes that would wear out lesser men and most horses. And because the San Antonio to Gonzales Road forded the Guadalupe River right on El Capote land, the ranch became a waypoint for the whole moving world. Travelers passed through constantly, and the Erskine family received some notably eminent guests.
William Bollaert came through in 1840. Ferdinand Roemer visited between 1845 and 1847. And Frederick Law Olmstead made his way here in 1857.
The Erskines, it seems, kept a welcoming house. Michael Erskine himself was born in 1794 and died in 1862, and after his family sold the ranch in the 1870s, the land began taking on new chapters — each one stranger and more consequential than the last. Part of that land was deeded to a woman named Edith Kermit Carow.
She was the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt. And here is where El Capote reaches all the way into the history books: during the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt rode a horse from El Capote — a horse named Seguin — at the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1898. A Guadalupe County horse carried a future president up that hill.
Seguin, from right here. The ranch was acquired in 1897 by Judge Leroy Gilbert Denman, born in 1855 and died in 1916, a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. And when the marker was placed in 1976, El Capote was still owned by his descendants.
Twenty-seven thousand acres. A French officer, a Virginia cattleman, distinguished visitors, a president's horse, and a Supreme Court justice — all of it rooted in one stretch of Guadalupe County ground. El Capote Ranch did not chase history.
History just kept finding it.
What the marker says
The founder of El Capote Ranch was Jose De La Baume (1731-1834), a French army officer who came to North America with the Marquis De Lafayette and fought in the American Revolution. He later joined the Spanish Army and for his services received title in 1806 to 27,000 acres of Texas land - the original El Capote Ranch. De La Baume's grant was reaffirmed after Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821. Virginia-born Michael Erskine (1794-1862) acquired the property in 1840. He raised cattle here and drove his herds to California and New Orleans. Since the San Antonio to Gonzales Road forded the Guadalupe River on El Capote land, many travelers passed this way. The Erskine family hosted several eminent visitors, including William Bollaert (1840), Ferdinand Roemer (1845-1847), and Frederick Law Olmstead (1857). After the Erskine family sold the ranch in the 1870s, part of the land was deeded to Edith Kermit Carow, the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt. During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt rode an El Capote horse, "Seguin", at the Battle of San Juan Hill (1898). The ranch was acquired in 1897 by Judge Leroy Gilbert Denman (1855-1916), a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, and is owned by his descendants.