Ira Ingram

Duane's take

Well, the official marker tells it this way, and I'll give it to you straight from the record. Ira Ingram. The name might not ring a bell the way some Texas legends do, but friend, let me tell you, that is a shame the history books ought to correct.

Born in Vermont, August 18, 1788. A long way, in every sense, from where his story would land. He made his way to Matagorda, and by 1834 the people there had seen enough in him to name him their first alcalde, the top civil officer of the Matagorda municipality.

First. That word shows up more than once when you're talking about Ira Ingram, so hold onto it. Then comes 1836, the year Texas stood up and called itself a republic, and somebody had to figure out how a Congress was supposed to run.

They turned to Ingram. First Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the Republic of Texas. The man who called the room to order when the room had never been called to order before.

And if that weren't enough, he was also a pioneer patron of public schools. Fighting for the idea that ordinary Texas children deserved an education, back when that idea was anything but ordinary. Three firsts.

One man. And then, September 22, 1837, it was over. He didn't get long to see what he'd helped build.

But the foundation he laid, first alcalde, first Speaker, champion of public schools, that held.

What the marker says

First alcalde of Matagorda municipality, 1834. Member of the Congress of the Republic and first Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1836. Pioneer patron of public school. Born in Vermont August 18, 1788 died September 22, 1837.