DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about John H. Reagan — and friend, this one covers some ground. John Henninger Reagan came into this world in 1818, born to Timothy Richard and Elizabeth Reagan in Sevier County, Tennessee.
He worked his father's tannery, helped on the family farm, caught schooling when he could, and in 1838 he left Tennessee behind. The next year — 1839 — he landed in Nacogdoches, Texas, and that's where the story really starts picking up speed. In Nacogdoches he met Martin Lacy, the Indian agent for the Cherokee Tribe in what we now call Cherokee and Smith Counties.
Reagan helped carry a message — and it was not a gentle one — from Texas President Mirabeau Lamar to the Cherokees. The message said, in so many words: move north of the Red River, or face force. That's the kind of errand that marks a man's early years in a hard way.
When the Cherokees did not go, Reagan was assigned to General Thomas J. Rusk's regiment of the Texas militia. In July of 1839 that regiment engaged the Cherokees, and the last of it — the last skirmish — was the Battle of the Neches.
That battle was fought right here in what is today Van Zandt County. Chiefs Bowles and Big Mush died. The Cherokees were removed to Indian Territory.
It is a chapter that deserves to sit heavy, and it does. After that militia work, Reagan turned himself toward surveying, taking up work in the Nacogdoches Land District. And here is where you start to see the particular shape of this man's ambition — he petitioned for the creation of Henderson, Van Zandt, and Kaufman Counties, and he suggested the name for each one of them.
You are riding through Van Zandt County right now in some part because of John Reagan. He didn't stop there. He studied law.
He became a state representative, then a district judge in East Texas, presiding over the court right here in Canton from 1853 to 1857. After that he was elected to Congress. Then came the Civil War, and Reagan served as Postmaster General for the Confederacy.
When it all came apart in 1865, he was captured and imprisoned — same as Confederate President Jefferson Davis. After returning to Palestine, Reagan got back to work. Reelected to Congress in 1875.
Helped frame the Texas constitution of 1876. Served as a United States Senator from 1887 to 1891. And then — then — he became the first Texas Railroad Commissioner, a position he held all the way until 1903.
He died in 1905 and was buried in Palestine. One man. Tannery boy from Tennessee.
Militia soldier. Surveyor. Judge.
Congressman. Cabinet officer. Senator.
The first Railroad Commissioner this state ever had. Van Zandt County bears his fingerprints, and so does a whole lot more of Texas.
What the marker says
John H. Reagan John Henninger Reagan was born in 1818 to Timothy Richard and Elizabeth Reagan in Sevier County, Tennessee. He worked at his father's tannery and on the family farm, attending school sporadically, until leaving the state in 1838. Reagan came in 1839 to Nacogdoches, Texas, where he met with Martin Lacy, Indian agent for the Cherokee Tribe in present day Cherokee and Smith Counties. He helped deliver a message from Texas President Mirabeau Lamar to the Cherokees, threatening force if the tribe did not move north of the Red River. Reagan was assigned to Gen. Thomas J. Rusk's regiment of the Texas militia, which engaged the Cherokees in July 1839. The last skirmish was the Battle of the Neches, fought in today's Van Zandt County, resulting in the deaths of Chiefs Bowles and Big Mush, and the removal of the Cherokees to Indian Territory. After his work with the militia, Reagan studied surveying, working in the Nacogdoches Land District. As part of his survey work, he petitioned the creation of Henderson, Van Zandt and Kaufman Counties, suggesting the names for each. Reagan also studied law and became a state representative and then district judge in East Texas, presiding over the court in Canton from 1853 to 1857, after which he was elected to congress. During the Civil War, Reagan served as Postmaster General for the Confederacy. He was captured and imprisoned, as was Pres. Jefferson Davis, in 1865. After returning to Palestine, Reagan was reelected to congress in 1875 and helped frame the 1876 Texas constitution. He served as U.S. Senator, 1887-1891, then became first Texas Railroad Commissioner, a position he held until 1903. He died in 1905 and was buried in Palestine. (2002)