DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The name on the stone is George Washington Marion Duck — and friend, that is a name that was built for a Texas legend. G.W.M.
Duck, born in 1828, made his move sometime between 1852 and 1854, packing up his wife Evaline White Duck, born 1829, and their children, and leaving Somerset, Kentucky behind. Where'd they land? Southwest of San Antonio, in an area that would eventually carry the name Somerset.
Whether that coincidence means anything, the marker doesn't say — but it's the kind of detail that tends to stick with a person. Now, Duck didn't waste any time making himself known. In 1854, he was sworn in as Bexar County Constable.
Then Atascosa County was carved out of Bexar County in 1856, and Duck moved with the times — elected Atascosa County Tax Assessor-Collector in 1858. He held that post until 1873, which, if you're keepin' track, is a good long stretch of public service. Then, as if he hadn't done enough, the people elected him Sheriff, and they kept on electin' him for multiple terms.
That's the kind of man a county leans on. But here's where the story turns heavy, and it deserves to be said plainly. In the early 1890s, Duck lost his wife Evaline and his daughters to smallpox.
He buried them on his Pleasanton property. And then, in a gesture that says everything about the man, Duck donated that portion of his land adjoining an existing cemetery — the ground that is now known as Pleasanton City Cemetery. He gave away his grief to make something for the community.
G.W.M. Duck passed away on May 22, 1899, and he rests in that very cemetery today — the one that, in a very real sense, he helped bring into being. A dedicated public servant, from the first oath to the last acre.
What the marker says
Between 1852 and 1854, George Washington Marion (G.W.M.) Duck (1828-1899), his wife, Evaline White Duck (1829-1891), and their children left Somerset, Kentucky, and settled southwest of San Antonio in an area eventually called Somerset. In 1854, Duck was sworn in as Bexar County Constable and then, after Atascosa County was formed from Bexar County in 1856, elected Atascosa County Tax Assessor-Collector in 1858. He held that position until 1873 when he was elected Sheriff for multiple terms. In the early 1890s, Duck lost his wife and daughters to smallpox and buried them on his Pleasanton property. Duck later donated that portion adjoining an existing cemetery that is now known as Pleasanton City Cemetery. As a dedicated public servant, G.W.M. Duck passed away on May 22, 1899, and is buried in Pleasanton City Cemetery.