DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to pass it along — this is Duane, and this is the story Blanco County wants you to know. Now, most counties in Texas will brag on their own, and Blanco County is no different. But what Blanco County is bragging on here is a man named Joseph Wilson Baines — and the thing is, the brag is earned.
Joseph Wilson Baines was born in Louisiana in 1846. By 1850, the family had come to Texas, and they brought some weight with them. His father, Reverend George W.
Baines, was not a man who sat still. Reverend Baines founded a church newspaper and served as president of Baylor University. That's the household Joseph came up in.
When the Civil War came calling, Joseph Wilson Baines served in the Williamson Cadets. After the war, he put down roots in Collin County, where he lived from 1867 to 1882. He married Ruth A.
Huffman. He worked as a teacher, then as a lawyer. And somewhere in there he decided the world needed another newspaper, so he founded and published the McKinney Advocate.
A man of words and law both — that combination tends to lead somewhere. And it did. From 1883 to 1887, Joseph Wilson Baines served as Secretary of State for Texas.
After that, he practiced law right here in Blanco, from 1888 to 1903. He died in Fredericksburg. Now.
That is a full life by anybody's measure. But here is where the story takes a long reach into history. Joseph and Ruth had a daughter named Rebecca.
Rebecca Baines became Mrs. Sam Ealy Johnson. And Mrs.
Sam Ealy Johnson became the mother of Lyndon Baines Johnson — the thirty-sixth president of the United States. Blanco County's bragging on a pioneer leader. But history, it turns out, was just getting started with this family.
What the marker says
(1846-1906) Born in Louisiana; in 1850 came to Texas, where his father, Rev. Geo. W. Baines, founded a church newspaper and was president of Baylor University. Served in the Williamson Cadets, in Civil War. Lived in Collin County, 1867-1882. Married Ruth A. Huffman. Was a teacher, lawyer; founder and publisher of McKinney "Advocate." Served 1883-1887 as Secretary of State for Texas. Practiced law in Blanco, 1888-1903. Died in Fredericksburg. His daughter Rebecca (Mrs. Sam Ealy Johnson) became the mother of Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th president of the United States. (1965)