Elemelech Swearingen

Duane's take

You're hearing my take on what the official marker has to say — so let's get into it. The name alone ought to stop you cold: Elemelech Swearingen. Say it out loud once and you'll never forget it.

Born September 25, 1805, in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, over in Bullitt County — a man with a name that sounded like it was built to last, and as it turned out, so was the man himself. In 1827 he married Angelina Weeks, and four years later, in 1831, Elemelech packed up his family and pointed them toward Texas. Now here's where fate does one of those quiet little things it likes to do: another family withdrew their application to Stephen F.

Austin's Old 300 — that legendary list of early colonists — and just like that, the Swearingens stepped into that open slot. The last additions to the Old 300. Last in line, and still they made it.

That's a story right there. Elemelech built a farm near what would grow into the community of Millheim, in what is now Austin County. He and Angelina were among the earliest settlers in the area, and they put down roots the way people meant it back then — nine children raised on that land, the rest of their lives lived right there.

Elemelech rose to lead in that community. He served as Millheim's first postmaster — the man people trusted to handle their words when they couldn't deliver them themselves. But leadership in a parlor wasn't the only kind Elemelech knew.

When the Texas Revolution came calling, he answered. He served as a second sergeant in the 1st Regiment Infantry, Company B, under Captain Amasa Turner. He fought for Texas independence, and that alone would be enough for most men's markers.

But Elemelech wasn't finished. He later served in the Mier Expedition — and the marker calls it what it was: ill-fated. That word carries weight.

It asks you to pause. Those men walked into something hard, and Elemelech Swearingen was among them. For his military service, he received a headright of land in Callahan County — Texas paying a debt the only way a young republic could, in land.

Angelina died in 1883. Elemelech followed in 1887, on May 15th. They are buried on their own land, near their former home.

And Swearingen Road still runs through that former Austin County property, right near the gravesite. The name that was hard to say is now the name on a road through the place he cleared and claimed and called home. Pioneer.

Veteran. Postmaster. Patriot.

Elemelech Swearingen earned every word.

What the marker says

(September 25, 1805 - May 15, 1887) Austin County pioneer and Texas War for Independence veteran, Elemelech Swearingen, was born in Shepherdsville, Kentucky (Bullitt Co.) in 1805. He married Angelina Weeks (1811-1883) in 1827 and in 1831, moved with his family to Texas. The Swearingens became the last additions to Stephen F. Austin's Old 300 when another family withdrew their application. Swearingen built a farm, settling on land near what became the community of Millheim, in present-day Austin County. The Swearingens were among the earliest settlers in this area, where they raised nine children and lived the rest of their lives. Elemelech Swearingen was a leader in Millheim and served as the community's first postmaster. During the Texas Revolution, Elemelech Swearingen served as a second sergeant in the 1st Regiment Infantry, Company B under Captain Amasa Turner. He later served in the ill-fated Mier Expedition. Angelina Swearingen died in 1883, and Elemelech died in 1887. Their burial site is on their land near their former home. For his military service, Elemelech received a headright of land in Callahan County. Swearingen Road runs through his former Austin County property, near his gravesite. Today, Elemelech Swearingen is remembered as an early Austin County pioneer and as a patriot who fought for Texas Independence. (2008)