DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for James B. Woods in Liberty County tells it like this — and it's a story worth telling slow. James B.
Woods was born on January 21, 1802, in Kentucky. By 1830 he had made his way to Texas, settling in the Atascosito Libertad area of Mexico — the place that would become Liberty, Texas. He was among the earliest lawyers to practice in the Liberty District, and by all accounts he was a brilliant one.
Brilliant lawyer, brilliant speaker. The kind of man a room notices when he walks in. On January 25, 1831, Woods was granted a half a league right at this very site.
And because education and profession have a way of opening doors, he found himself drawn deeper and deeper into the life of this young, restless place. By 1834, he was elected Alcalde — that's Mayor — of the Liberty District. He represented the District at the Consultations of 1835.
Then March of 1836 rolled around, and James B. Woods was one of five delegates Liberty sent to the Washington-on-the-Brazos Convention. Now here's where you sit up a little straighter.
On March 11, 1836, thirty-four-year-old James B. Woods put his name on the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was the third representative of the Municipality of Liberty to sign it.
Third. The ink was barely dry on a new nation, and his hand helped make it. He didn't stop there.
From July 7 to October 7, 1836, Woods served in the Texas Army, Franklin Hardin Company. Then he came back to Liberty, back to his family, back to the law practice. In 1838, he ran for Congress.
Lost — to his own brother-in-law, Hugh B. Johnston. That same year, he married Mary Ann White, born 1822, daughter of former Mayor Matthew G.
White. James and Mary Ann would have three children together. And here's where the story darkens, the way Texas stories sometimes do.
In 1851, James Woods killed a man named Alexander Buxton over an election quarrel. He was said to have been remorseful. Tradition states that he was killed, or that he took his own life.
The marker doesn't draw a clean line between those two endings — and maybe that's honest, because history doesn't always offer one. He was buried in the White Family Cemetery, three miles southeast of Liberty, alongside members of his family and neighbors. A man who signed a Declaration, who practiced law on the frontier, who shaped a district and served in an army — laid to rest quietly, in the company of people who knew him.
The marker doesn't let you forget any of it. Neither should we.
What the marker says
James B. Woods, the third representative of the Municipality of Liberty to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence, was born on January 21, 1802 in Kentucky. He arrived in Texas in 1830 and settled in the Atascosito Libertad area of Mexico (now Liberty, Texas). Woods was among the earliest lawyers to practice in the Liberty District and was known as a brilliant lawyer and speaker. On January 25, 1831, Woods was granted a half a league at this site. Due to his education, background and profession, Woods easily became involved in politics and, in 1834, was elected Alcalde (Mayor) of the Liberty District. He represented the District at the Consultations of 1835 and, in March 1836, was one of five delegates representing Liberty at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Convention. On March 11, 1836, 34-year-old James B. Woods was one of the men who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. In addition to his civic duties, Woods also served in the Texas Army, Franklin Hardin Company from July 7 to October 7, 1836. He then returned to Liberty and his family to resume his law practice. In 1838, Woods ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress against his brother-in-law, Hugh B. Johnston. That same year, he married Mary Ann White (b.1822), daughter of former Mayor Matthew G. White. James and Mary Ann had three children. In 1851, James Woods killed Alexander Buxton over an election quarrel, and was said to have been remorseful. Tradition states that he was killed or took his own life. He was buried in the White Family Cemetery, three miles southeast of Liberty, with members of his family and neighbors. (2013)