John M. Ramsey

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about John M. Ramsey, out in La Salle County. Now settle in, because this is the kind of life that covers a lot of ground.

Born in Alabama in 1845, John M. Ramsey came into a world that wouldn't stay still for long. He was a young man when he put on a Confederate uniform and served through the Civil War, from 1862 to 1865.

Whatever he saw in those years, he came out the other side still standing, and still moving. In 1867 he married Rebecca Alexander, and by 1870 the two of them had planted roots in Lee County, Texas. Texas had a way of pulling people in, and the Ramseys were no exception.

They built a life there together. Then Rebecca died, in 1885, and that is where the story turns quiet for a moment. Because what John Ramsey did next says something about the man.

He didn't stay put and let grief make the decision for him. In 1889, he gathered up his eight children, and he moved the whole operation to La Salle County. Eight children.

One man. A new county. He acquired extensive farm and ranch land out there, and he became a pioneer leader in the community of Artesia Wells.

He participated in political affairs. He served as a school trustee, making sure those eight children, and every other child in that community, had something to stand on. John M.

Ramsey lived until 1925. That's a long road from Alabama to La Salle County, and he walked every mile of it.

What the marker says

(1845-1925) A native of Alabama, John M. Ramsey served in the Confederate army during the Civil War (1862-1865). In 1867 he married Rebecca Alexander (d. 1885), and in 1870 they settled in Lee County, Texas. In 1889, after his wife died, Ramsey moved with his eight children to La Salle County, where he acquired extensive farm and ranch land. A pioneer leader in the community of Artesia Wells, he participated in political affairs and served as a school trustee.