Gen. George W. Terrell

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of General George W. Terrell. Born in Kentucky in 1803, Terrell made his way to Mississippi, and then in 1840 he came to Texas.

Now, when a man arrives in a new republic and lands on the Supreme Court the same year he rides in, you start to suspect he was not the kind of fellow who eased into things slowly. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, 1840. That's a fast start by any measure.

The very next year, 1841, he was Secretary of State. And if that wasn't enough to keep a man busy, he also served as Attorney General, running from 1841 into 1842. Two cabinet-level roles in roughly the span of a single year.

Texas was young and moving fast, and Terrell was moving right along with it. Then came the assignment that would take him across an ocean. From 1844 to 1845, Terrell served as Chargé d'Affaires of the Republic of Texas to England, France, and Spain.

Three nations. One Texan. Representing a republic that had only existed for a handful of years, carrying its case to the old courts of Europe.

He came back to Austin, and on May 17, 1846, George W. Terrell died there. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936.

A man who crossed an ocean for this place, and in the end, Austin is where he stayed.

What the marker says

Born in Kentucky 1803. Came to Texas in 1840 from Mississippi. Associate justice, Supreme Court, 1840. Secretary of State, 1841. Attorney General, 1841-42. Charge d'Affiares of the the Republic of Texas to England, France, Spain 1844-45. Died in Austin, Texas, May 17, 1846. Erected by the State of Texas 1936