Jourdan Smith

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best by the man. Jourdan Smith. Born in Georgia on March 24, 1811, and by the time his story finds its footing, he's pointed west toward Texas with a revolution calling his name.

That was 1836, and he answered. He came to fight, and fight he did, and the Republic of Texas took notice. When the dust settled, the Republic handed him 320 acres for his service, plus a one-third league headright on top of that.

Not a bad accounting for a man who showed up ready. Back in civilian life, Jourdan put his hands to work. He was a carpenter, a professional builder, a man who raised things up rather than tore them down.

Then in 1843 he married Frances Duckworth, and the life he was building started to take a different shape. In 1848 he purchased a farm out in the Young's Prairie community, and that land became the ground he stood on in more ways than one. He served there as justice of the peace, a man his neighbors trusted to settle the matters that neighbors bring to each other's doors.

Now here's the part that sits quiet and heavy. Of all his children, only one lived to maturity. One.

You let that rest a moment. And yet, that land he bought in Young's Prairie, that farm he worked and called his own, it stayed in the family. It is still owned by his descendants today.

Jourdan Smith died on March 30, 1873, but something of him never left that prairie. That's the mark of a man.

What the marker says

(March 24, 1811 - March 30, 1873) Born in Georgia. Came to Texas to fight in revolution in 1836. Received 320 acres of land for service, plus one-third league headright, from the Republic of Texas. Worked as a carpenter and a professional builder. Married Frances Duckworth in 1843. Purchased a farm in Young's Prairie community, 1848, where he served as justice of the peace. Only one of his children lived to maturity. This land is still owned by his descendants. Recorded - 1970