Elisha Everett Lott

Duane's take

The official marker tells this one, and I'm just the voice carrying it down the road. Elisha Everett Lott. Born February 24, 1820.

And if you want to understand Smith County, this is a name worth knowing. In 1840 he made his way to Harrison County, Texas, still a young man finding his footing in a young republic. Two years later, in 1842, he was elected to the Republic of Texas Congress.

Think about that for a moment. The republic. Not the state.

The republic. Texas was still its own nation, and Lott was helping shape it, helping open this whole area up for settlement. He kept moving west with the tide of history.

In 1845 he settled here, and then in 1846, he was right in the middle of organizing Smith County and pushing to make Tyler the county seat. The county you're driving through right now, with its roads and its courthouse and its name on every map, Lott had a hand in bringing that into being. He didn't slow down there either.

He helped promote steamboat navigation on the Sabine River, which in that era was no small ambition. And in 1853, the people of Texas sent him to the State Senate. By any measure, this was a man who left his mark on the land.

Then came the Civil War. Lott served as a Confederate veteran. And on January 17, 1864, he died at his home in Starrville.

He's buried near this very site, in the Lott Family Cemetery, in the county he helped put on the map.

What the marker says

(February 24, 1820 - January 17, 1864) Moved to Harrison County, Texas in 1840. Elected to the Republic of Texas Congress in 1842, he helped open this area of Texas for settlement. He moved here in 1845, and in 1846 was instrumental in the organization of Smith County and the selection of Tyler as the county seat. He helped promote steamboat navigation of the Sabine River and in 1853 was elected to the State Senate. A Confederate veteran of the Civil War, Lott died at his Starrville home in 1864 and is buried near this site in the Lott Family Cemetery.