DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the J. A. Megarity Homestead, out here in Navarro County.
Now, some stories start quiet and end loud. This one starts in Georgia and ends right here in the Texas soil — and there's a whole lot of history between those two points. James A.
Megarity was born in Georgia in 1838. By the time the Civil War came calling, he was in Confederate gray, and friend, he didn't sit out the easy parts. Gettysburg.
Petersburg. Two of the most brutal, bone-grinding engagements of that entire war. The marker says he took part in several important battles, and those two names alone tell you something about what that man walked through.
And then — the end of it all. James Megarity was present at the surrender of General Robert E. Lee.
Whatever he carried out of that moment, he carried it the rest of his life. But here's where the story turns. Before the war had even finished rewriting the map, James had already made one of the better decisions of his life.
In 1859, he wed Narcissa C. Hardman. And when the dust of the war settled, those two looked at Georgia, looked at each other, and looked west.
In 1872, the Megaritys came to Texas. They didn't arrive with deed in hand. For a time, they rented land — workin' ground that wasn't quite theirs yet, building toward something.
Then, in 1876, they bought this very site and built their home. Right here. This spot.
James's land holdings grew to one hundred and eighty-seven acres. The marker calls him a prosperous area farmer, and out here on the Texas prairie, that word — prosperous — it means something earned. The Megaritys were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, rooted in faith the same way they were rooted in this land.
James A. Megarity died in 1911. A man born in Georgia, forged in some of the hardest fighting the Civil War produced, present at the moment an era ended — and then, quietly, stubbornly, he built something new on a hundred and eighty-seven Texas acres.
Not a bad way to answer history.
What the marker says
James A. Megarity (1838-1911) was born in Georgia and served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. He took part in several important battles including Gettysburg and Petersburg. He was also present at the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Megarity wed Narcissa C. Hardman in 1859, and they came to Texas in 1872. After renting land for a time, they bought this site in 1876 and built their home. Megarity's land holdings grew to 187 acres, and he became a prosperous area farmer. The Megaritys were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. (1983)