Marrs, S. M. N.

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about S. M. N.

Marrs, and friend, this one's worth pulling over for. January 2, 1862. Gauley Bridge, Fayette County, Virginia; a place that would eventually become West Virginia.

That's where Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs came into the world. Now, that name alone sounds like a man destined to sign important documents, and as it turns out, he did. By the time young Starlin was sixteen years old, he was already teaching in rural schools.

Sixteen. And when the teaching money ran thin, he went down into the coal mines to make ends meet. That's the kind of start that either breaks a person or builds them into something remarkable.

For Marrs, well, keep listening. In 1881, he made his move to Texas, teaching in Erath County, then Hico, then Cleburne. Along the way he earned a degree from National Normal University up in Ohio, and he married Anna Hesup, also a West Virginia native.

A man collecting towns, credentials, and good company all at once. Then came Terrell. In 1893, the Terrell school board chose Marrs as superintendent, and you might think that's where the story settles into something smooth and quiet.

It did not. By 1897, the school board had gotten tangled up in a full political fight with the city aldermen and the mayor. Two years of turmoil, and Marrs rode every wave of it; fired, re-hired, and eventually resigned to take a post at the Department of Education in Austin for a year.

But Terrell wasn't done with him. In 1899, he came back as superintendent. Life handed him harder things too.

His first wife, Anna, died in 1904, leaving him to care for their four children on his own. Five years later, in 1909, he wed Ina Cadell, and life moved forward the way it does for people who don't quit. And Marrs was not a man who sat still.

Beyond the schoolhouse, he played a role in building Terrell's Carnegie library. He was part of changing the local government over to a city commission model. He served as president of the Texas State Teachers Association.

He served on the State Board of Examiners. The man was everywhere good work needed doing. Then in 1918, he stepped up again, leaving Terrell to become State Supervisor of High Schools.

He worked under State Superintendent Annie Webb Blanton, and by 1921 he had risen to Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction. One year later, in 1922, he became State Superintendent of Public Instruction himself. And what did he do with that office?

He initiated compulsory school attendance. He worked for better rural schools. He pushed for stronger high school funding and higher certification standards.

The kid who taught at sixteen and worked coal mines to survive had become the man setting the standards for how Texas educated its children. Marrs died in 1932 and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. That's not a small thing; the State Cemetery is where Texas lays its most consequential people to rest.

In 1954, at the Texas State Fair, he was honored as one of one hundred heroes of Texas education. From a coal mine in Fayette County to the Texas State Cemetery, by way of every school board fight, every rural classroom, and every policy that nudged Texas a little closer to doing right by its kids. That's Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs.

What the marker says

On January 2, 1862, Starlin Marion Newberry Marrs was born in Gauley Bridge, Fayette County, Virginia (now West Virginia). At 16, he began teaching in rural schools, working in coal mines to make ends meet. He moved to Texas in 1881, teaching in Erath County, Hico and Cleburne. He also earned a degree from Ohio's National Normal University, and wed Anna Hesup, also of West Virginia. In 1893, Terrell's school board chose Marrs as superintendent. In 1897, the board was involved in a political fight with the city aldermen and mayor. During two years of turmoil, Marrs was fired and re-hired, and he resigned to work at the Department of Education in Austin for a year. He returned as Terrell superintendent in 1899. After his first wife died in 1904, Marrs cared for their four children and, in 1909, wed Ina Cadell. In addition to school and family responsibilities, he was an active citizen, playing a role in building Terrell's Carnegie library and also in changing the local government utilizing a city commission model. He also served as president of the Texas State Teachers Association and on the State Board of Examiners. In 1918, Marrs left to become State Supervisor of High Schools. He worked under State Superintendent Annie Webb Blanton, becoming Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1921. He became State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1922. In that job, he initiated compulsory school attendance and worked for better rural schools, stronger high school funding and higher certification standards. Marrs died in 1932 and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, He was honored at the 1954 Texas State Fair as one of 100 heroes of Texas education. His contributions to Terrell, and to the state, remain significant. (2004)