DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The story of Lent Munson Hitchcock begins the way a lot of good Texas stories do, with a young man pointing himself toward something bigger than where he started. Born October 15, 1816, in Connecticut, he was a sea captain's son, and the sea didn't wait long to claim him.
By the age of fourteen, he was already a sailor. Think about that for a moment. Fourteen years old, and already working the water.
Some folks spend a lifetime figuring out what they're meant to do. Hitchcock seemed to know early. Around 1836, he left his native Connecticut behind and joined the Texas Navy.
The Texas Navy. That's a phrase that deserves a little room to breathe, because there was indeed such a thing, and Hitchcock was part of it. His seafaring duties brought him to Galveston in 1837, and Galveston, it turns out, was the kind of place that had a way of keeping people.
Hitchcock stayed. And he didn't just stay quietly. He served as harbor master.
He served as city alderman. He served as treasurer. When the Civil War came, he stepped forward again as a Confederate army volunteer.
He was an active Mason and an Episcopalian, and by all accounts he played a prominent role in the city's early development. He died February 27, 1869, but that was not quite the end of the story. In 1891, the town of Hitchcock, eighteen miles northwest of Galveston, was named for him.
A sailor's son from Connecticut, and a Texas town carries his name to this day. Not a bad legacy for a boy who went to sea at fourteen.
What the marker says
(October 15, 1816 - February 27, 1869) A sea captain's son who became a sailor at the age of 14, Lent Munson Hitchcock left his native Connecticut and joined the Texas Navy about 1836. Seafaring duties brought him to Galveston in 1837 where he later served as harbor master, city alderman, treasurer, and Confederate army volunteer. An active Mason and Episcopalian, Hitchcock played a prominent role in the city's early development. The town of Hitchcock (18 mi. NW) was named for him in 1891.