DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, there are men whose lives seem written by someone with a flair for the dramatic — and James Allison York might just be one of them. Born in Kentucky on the Fourth of July, 1800.
Independence Day. You can't make that up, and nobody had to. He came into this world on the same day the young republic he'd eventually fight for was celebrating itself, and he carried that date all the way to Texas.
By 1835, James Allison York was in the thick of it — participating in the capture of San Antonio. That was no small moment. San Antonio.
Then came San Jacinto, and York was there too, riding under Captain Moseley Baker's company. Two of the defining engagements of Texas's fight for itself, and this Kentucky-born man was present for both. He saw San Antonio fall.
He stood on the field at San Jacinto. Whatever he witnessed in those moments, he carried it with him the rest of his days. And those days ended on February 6, 1869, in Lavaca County, Texas.
The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936 to make sure the name James Allison York didn't just quietly disappear into the tall grass of history. Born on the Fourth of July. Fought at San Antonio and San Jacinto.
Died in the state he helped make. Some men earn their marker.
What the marker says
Participated in the capture of San Antonio, 1835 A member of Capt. Moseley Baker's Company at San Jacinto Born in Kentucky on July 4, 1800 Died in Lavaca County, Texas February 6, 1869 Erected by the State of Texas 1936