DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the State of Texas put down on the marker for Kenneth Lewis Anderson, out in Grimes County. Now settle in, because this one's got history, heartbreak, and a name that stuck to the land itself. Kenneth Lewis Anderson came into this world in Hillsboro, North Carolina, on September the eleventh, 1805.
His wife, Patience Burdett, arrived on Christmas Day, 1806, in Shelbyville, Tennessee. A holiday child, born on December the twenty-fifth — you could say she came into the world already marked for somethin' memorable. Together, these two would find their way to the young, wild, struggling Republic of Texas.
And Kenneth Lewis Anderson did not arrive quietly. The man served as District Judge. He stood as Speaker of the House of the Sixth Congress.
And then — and here's where the story reaches its peak — he became the last Vice President of the Republic of Texas. The last one. Which means when the Republic itself came to its end, Anderson was the man holdin' that office.
Now that is a distinction that cuts both ways. He carried the weight of a whole republic on his résumé, and then on July the third, 1845, Kenneth Lewis Anderson died. Just one day — one single day — before the Fourth of July.
One day before the nation he served was on the verge of a transformation that would fold Texas into something larger. Patience outlived him by a long stretch. She died July the fourth, 1886, and was buried in San Antonio.
The State of Texas erected this marker in memory of them both. But perhaps the most lasting tribute isn't stone or bronze at all. There was once a town in Grimes County called Fanthorp.
Was called that, past tense. The marker tells us the name of the town of Fanthorp was changed to Anderson — in his honor. So Kenneth Lewis Anderson, last Vice President of a republic that no longer exists, lives on in the name of the town where you might be standin' right now.
Some men leave behind offices. Some leave behind dates in a history book. This one left behind a place on the map.
That tends to stick.
What the marker says
Anderson Erected by the State of Texas In memory of Patience Burdett Wife of Kenneth Lewis Anderson Born in Shelbyville, Tennessee, Dec. 25, 1806 Died July 4, 1886 Buried at San Antonio, Texas in memory of Kenneth Lewis Anderson Born in Hillsboro, North Carolina, Sept. 11, 1805 District Judge, Speaker of the House of the Sixth Congress and last Vice President of the Republic of Texas Died July 3, 1845 The name of the town of Fanthorp was changed to Anderson in his honor