Katie Daffan

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Katie Daffan. Now settle in, because this is a woman who never did just one thing when she could do five. Born in Brenham, Katie Litty Daffan came into this world with a lot on her mind and, as it turned out, a whole lot left to write down.

She started out as a teacher; that was the foundation, the bedrock. But if you thought she was going to stay put in one classroom and call it a life, well, you didn't know Katie Daffan. She became an officer of the Texas State Historical Association.

She wrote books, including a Texas history textbook, which means somewhere out there, generations of Texas schoolchildren got their understanding of this state filtered through her pen. Think about that for a moment. From 1911 to 1918, she served as superintendent of the Confederate Woman's Home in Austin, active all the while in the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Then she pivoted. And when Katie Daffan pivoted, she pivoted with purpose. From 1921 to 1928 she was the literary editor of the Houston Chronicle.

Literary editor. She was shaping what readers across that city thought was worth their time. And then (and here's where the story takes a turn that feels almost like coming home) she landed in Ennis.

Taught school here. And from 1936 all the way to 1950, she was a feature columnist for the Ennis Daily News. Fourteen years of words, right here in Ellis County.

Author, educator, journalist, club-woman. The marker doesn't rank those titles, and maybe that's fitting; because Katie Daffan filled every one of them. She died here in Ennis in 1951, in the same town where she'd been putting words on paper right up to nearly the end.

Some people are remembered for one thing. Katie Daffan gave remembrance a lot to choose from.

What the marker says

Born in Brenham, Katie Litty Daffan was a well-known author, educator, journalist, and club-woman. She began her career as a teacher and was an officer of the Texas State Historical Assoc. She wrote several books, including a Texas history textbook. Active in the United Daughters of The Confederacy, she served from 1911 to 1918 as superintendent of the Confederate Woman's Home in Austin. She was literary editor of the "Houston Chronicle" from 1921 to 1928. Miss Daffan taught school in Ennis and was feature columnist for the "Ennis Daily News", 1936-50. She died here in 1951.