General Edward H. Tarrant

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. General Edward H. Tarrant.

Now there's a name that carries some weight in Texas, and if you've ever crossed through the county that bears it, you've been riding through his legacy without even knowing it. The marker puts him in North Carolina first, born in 1796. He came up through the War of 1812; that old, half-forgotten conflict that still shaped the men who fought it.

By the time Texas was finding its footing as its own republic, Tarrant was there, taking a seat in the Texas Congress, making his voice heard. And out on the frontier, he earned a reputation as a courageous Indian fighter (that's the marker's word, courageous, and they don't hand that one out lightly). He died August 2, 1858, out in Parker County, Texas.

But here's where the story takes one of those long, winding turns. He was reburied in Ellis County in 1859, near his former plantation, so even in death, the land he'd worked held him close. And then, decades later, in 1928, his remains were removed once more and reinterred in Fort Worth, in the very county that carries his name.

Three resting places for one man. Some legacies, it seems, take a while to find their home.

What the marker says

Veteran of the War of 1812, member of the Texas Congress and a courageous indian fighter. Born in North Carolina, 1796, died in Parker County, Texas, August 2, 1858. Reburied in Ellis County near his former plantation, 1859. His remains removed to the county named in his honor in 1928 and reinterred in Fort Worth.