James Loraine Dallas

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of James Loraine Dallas and the woman he married, as the State of Texas saw fit to remember them in 1936. Now, Pennsylvania is a long way from Texas. A long way by any measure.

But James Loraine Dallas made that journey, and before he was done, he had served in the Army of Texas in 1836. Think about what that means for a moment. The Republic of Texas was brand new, barely breathing, and this man born in Pennsylvania on August 18, 1818, was there, in uniform, part of it.

He would live to see that republic become a state, see the state torn apart and stitched back together, and finally come to rest in Washington County, Texas, where he died on March 18, 1883. That is a life that spans a whole era of Texas history, and James Loraine Dallas was woven into it from near the very beginning. His wife, Mary V.

Dallas, born Mary V. Cooper, came to Texas from Tennessee. She was born January 22, 1826, and she too made Washington County her home and her final resting place.

She died there on June 6, 1875, several years before her husband. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936, a hundred years after James Dallas shouldered whatever he carried into the Army of Texas. Sometimes the long memory of a place is the most dignified thing it has to offer.

What the marker says

Served in the Army of Texas, 1836 Born in Pennsylvania Aug. 18, 1818 Died in Washington County, Texas March 18, 1883 His Wife Mary V. (Cooper) Dallas Born in Tennessee Jan. 22, 1826 Died in Washington County, Texas June 6, 1875 Erected by the State of Texas 1936