John Byler Mallard, Judge

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Judge John Byler Mallard, over in Anderson County. Now, some men arrive in a place just a little ahead of everything. John Byler Mallard was that kind of man.

He was born in 1820 in Alabama, and he came up sharp. An honor graduate of the University of Tennessee Law School, which was not a thing you stumbled into back in those days. Then, in 1844, he married Miss Susan Scott over in Tippah County, Mississippi.

And then he made his move. In 1845, Mallard settled in the Republic of Texas. Not the state of Texas, mind you.

The Republic. That tells you something about the timing right there. He got to Palestine early enough that in 1848 he built one of the first homes the town had ever seen.

And the law? He was the first lawyer in Palestine. The first.

He formed a partnership that reads like a roll call of men who were going somewhere. His partners were Judges William Alexander and John H. Reagan.

Now that name, Reagan, the marker notes him as a later state and national leader. Mallard was working alongside that man before any of that came to pass. He served as a member of the Fifth Texas Legislature.

A law man, a builder, a legislator. Palestine was barely a town and he was already shaping it. John Byler Mallard died in 1854.

The marker was erected by Miss Ruth R. Eppner, and it stands as a reminder that Palestine had a first lawyer, and he was a man who arrived in a republic and left his mark on a state.

What the marker says

Born 1820 in Alabama. An honor graduate, University of Tennessee Law School. Married in 1844 Miss Susan Scott, Tippah County, Mississippi. In 1845 settled in Republic of Texas. Built one of first homes in Palestine, 1848. First lawyer in Palestine, formed partnership with Judges Wm. Alexander and John H. Reagan, later state and national leader. Was a member of the Fifth Texas Legislature. Died in 1854. Recorded, 1965 Incise in base: Erected by Miss Ruth R. Eppner