DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to do it justice. Now, the name Fernando De Leon might not ring as loud as some in the Texas story, but pull up close, because this one earns its place. Born in 1798, Fernando was the eldest son of Martin de Leon — the empresario, the colonizer, the man with a plan for a stretch of Texas that most folks hadn't even dreamed about yet.
When Fernando was still just a small boy, around 1800, his family made the long journey from the interior of Mexico up to Texas, the northernmost province, and that journey would shape everything that followed. The De Leons didn't come to settle quietly. In the 1820s, Fernando worked alongside his father in the founding of the De Leon Colony and the city of Victoria itself.
Father and son, building something from the ground up in country that did not give itself over easy. Fernando carried real weight in that enterprise — he served as a commissioner of the colony, which meant the hard work of keeping a frontier settlement organized and legitimate. And if paperwork wasn't enough to keep a man occupied, there were the Indians to contend with.
Fernando was known as an Indian fighter, which out on that raw edge of Texas was no ceremonial title. Then came the War for Independence, and here's where the story turns grave. Fernando De Leon was loyal to the cause of Texas freedom from Mexico.
And that loyalty cost him. The Mexicans imprisoned him during the Texas War for Independence. Think on that a moment — a man who helped build this land, locked away for believing it ought to be free.
He came through it. And after, he returned to what he knew best: cattle and horses. He owned the famous Escondida Ranch, and by all accounts, he was a cattleman and horseman in the truest Texas sense of both words.
Fernando De Leon died in 1853. The colony he helped found, the city of Victoria standing to this day — those are the markers that outlast any marker.
What the marker says
(1798-1853) Eldest son of empresario Martin de Leon. Came with parents from interior of Mexico to Texas, the northermost province, about 1800. Worked with his fathter in founding De Leon Colony and city of Victoria in 1820s. He was a commissioner of the colony and an Indian fighter. Loyal to cause of Texas freedom from Mexico, he was imprisoned by the Mexicans in Texas War for Independence. A cattleman and horseman, he owned the famous "Escondida" Ranch. Recorded - 1972