DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some men are content to pick one life and live it. John B.
Denton was not that kind of man. He was born in Tennessee on July 26, 1806, and by January of 1836 he had made his way to Texas — which, if you know anything about Texas in 1836, tells you something about the man's appetite for difficulty. He came in as a Methodist circuit rider, which meant he was a preacher, out on the open land, carrying the gospel from settlement to settlement.
But John B. Denton was also a lawyer. And a soldier.
Pioneer lawyer, preacher, soldier — that's how the marker puts it, and I don't think they listed those in order of importance. He was all three at once, apparently, which is either the mark of a restless soul or a man who simply could not say no to a calling — and it seems John B. Denton had several.
On May 24, 1841, that restless life came to an end. Denton was killed in the Village Creek Indian fight, in what is now Tarrant County. The volunteers in that fight were commanded by General Edward H.
Tarrant — and that name should ring a bell, because Tarrant County itself was named for him. And Denton? Well.
The city bears his name. The county bears his name. A pioneer lawyer, preacher, and soldier who rode into Texas in the winter of 1836 and left his name on a piece of this land that people still live on, drive through, and call home every single day.
Some men pick one life. John B. Denton picked three — and the map remembers all of them.
What the marker says
Born in Tennessee July 26, 1806, came to Texas in January, 1836. As a Methodist circuit rider killed in the Village Creek Indian fight May 24, 1841 in what is now Tarrant County. Named for Gen. Edward H. Tarrant who commanded the volunteers. Denton city and county were named for the pioneer lawyer, preacher, soldier of that name.