DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Martin Allen, out here in Austin County. Now, some men seem to find trouble — or maybe trouble finds them — no matter where they set down roots. Martin Allen was one of those men.
Born on November 28, 1780, he came up learning the land the honest way, walking it step by step alongside his father, Benjamin, surveying roads through Kentucky. That kind of work teaches a man patience, precision, and just how wild the world really is. By 1804 Martin had married Elizabeth Vice, and by 1810 the family — three children by then — had made their way down to Louisiana.
But Martin Allen was not a man who stayed put. In 1812 and into 1813, he joined the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition, that bold and dangerous push to drive Spanish rule out of Texas. It did not go well.
The decisive Battle of Medina turned the tide, and in that fight, Martin lost his father Benjamin and a nephew. Gone. Both of them.
Here's the thing that'll give you pause: Martin survived only because he wasn't there. He was away on a recruiting mission at the time. Fate is a strange accountant.
After that, the Allens drifted — a brief stay in Arkansas territory — before settling back in northwest Louisiana around 1818. The community that grew up around them came to be named Allen's Settlement, in Martin's honor. The man had a way of leaving a mark on a place.
Then came 1821, and Texas called again — this time through Stephen F. Austin. Martin traveled to what is now Wharton County as one of Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists, among the very first settlers on the Colorado River.
He'd already fought for this land. Now he was putting down in it for real. About 1834, Martin and Elizabeth made one more move — purchasing land right here, at Eight Mile Point, so named for its distance from San Felipe de Austin.
They bought it from their own son, Miles N. Allen. And here is where they stayed.
For the rest of their lives, this was home. Close by — about a quarter mile east — Allen family members ran what the record calls a Public House. A waystation, a gathering place.
And among the men who came through those doors was one William B. Travis, a name that would burn itself into Texas history at the Alamo. Martin Allen lived to see Texas win its War for Independence — he was a veteran of that fight — but he did not live long past it.
He died on December 30, 1837, and was buried near that very Public House, in the Allen family cemetery. A man who surveyed Kentucky roads as a boy, fought Spanish rule as a young man, helped colonize the Colorado River, and ended his days a quarter mile from where William B. Travis used to stop in for a visit.
Some lives just refuse to be small.
What the marker says
(November 28, 1780-December 30, 1837) As a young man Martin Allen assisted his father, Benjamin, in surveying roads in their native state of Kentucky. He married Elizabeth Vice in 1804 and by 1810 they and their three children were living in Louisiana. Martin joined the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition's bid to rid Texas of Spanish rule in 1812-1813. His father and nephew were killed at the decisive Battle of Medina. Martin, on a recruiting mission at the time, survived. After a brief stay in Arkansas territory, the Allens moved back to northwest Louisiana about 1818 and settled in a community which shortly thereafter was named Allen's Settlement in Martin's honor. In 1821 Martin traveled to nearby Wharton County as one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred colonists and was among the first settlers on the Colorado River. About 1834 the Allens purchased land here at Eight Mile Point (so named for its distance from San Felipe de Austin) from their son, Miles N. The Allens lived on this property for the rest of their lives. Allen family members operated a "Public House" about 1/4 mile east of here that was frequently visited by future hero of the Alamo, William B. Travis. Martin, a Texas War for Independence veteran, was buried near the "Public House" in the Allen family cemetery. (1993)