DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — Peter Underhay Pridham, Victoria County. Now settle in, because this man covered more ground in one lifetime than most folks cover in three. He came into this world in 1812, on the Isle of Guernsey, out there in the English Channel, under the flag of Great Britain.
But Guernsey couldn't hold him long. At an early age he moved to London, and if you think that was the end of his wandering, well — you'd be wrong by several thousand miles. After marriage, he emigrated all the way to Montreal, Canada, in 1832.
Montreal. A long way from a little island off the coast of Normandy. But Peter Underhay Pridham was not a man who stayed put.
Two years later, in 1834, he came to Texas — and settled on the San Jacinto River. Now. The San Jacinto River.
You know where this is going. April 21, 1836. Pridham had joined the Texas volunteers, and on that day he fought in the Battle of San Jacinto.
The marker doesn't linger on the details of what that day looked and sounded and smelled like — it just states the fact, plain and true. He was there. He fought.
Then came grief. After the death of his wife, Pridham moved to Victoria in 1839. A man trying to put some miles between himself and sorrow, maybe.
And Victoria, it turned out, had its own trial waiting for him. In 1840, he fought in the Battle of Plum Creek — another hard day written into Texas history, and Peter Underhay Pridham was in the middle of it. But life has a way of turning.
In 1841, he married Matilda Roberts. And from there, he settled into something that looked a little more like permanence. He served as tax assessor over Victoria County, and he held that position until his death — July 3, 1853.
From the Isle of Guernsey to London to Montreal to the San Jacinto River to Victoria, Texas — two battles, two marriages, and a life of public service in between. Peter Underhay Pridham didn't wander aimlessly. He was moving toward something.
Turned out, it was Texas.
What the marker says
(1812-July 3, 1853) Born on the Isle of Guernsey, Great Britain; moved to London at an early age. After marriage,he emigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1832. Came to Texas in 1834, and settled on the San Jacinto River. Joined the Texas volunteers and fought in Battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. After death of wife, moved to Victoria in 1839; fought in Battle of Plum Creek in 1840; married Matilda Roberts in 1841; and was tax assessor over Victoria County until his death. Recorded - 1973