DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some men leave a mark on a land just by showin' up — and John Freeman Pettus was that kind of man. Born in Virginia in 1808, he made his way to Texas in the early 1820s, riding in as a member of Stephen F.
Austin's very first colony. Think about that for a moment. The first colony.
Texas was barely a notion yet, and here comes this Virginia boy planting his boots in it like he already knew it was going to be something worth sticking around for. And stick around he did. When the Texas Revolution came calling, John Freeman Pettus answered.
He served with Ben Milam in the Siege of Bexar — and if you know anything about Ben Milam, you know that was no quiet afternoon — and then he went and participated in the Battle of San Jacinto too. The man showed up for the big moments. Then, after all of that, after revolution and siege and battle, Pettus moved his family to Goliad County about 1876.
He was getting on in years, and he found a spot near his home, right here, and he decided this would be the place. The family burial ground. He chose it himself.
Two years later, in 1878, John Freeman Pettus died — and true to form, he was the first one buried in the very ground he'd picked out. There's something quietly fitting about that. But the story doesn't end with one man.
This ground gathered others. Three more Austin colonists rest here: Elizabeth Pettus, Sarah Pettus, and Phoebe Scott. And alongside them lies James Austin Clements, himself a veteran of San Jacinto.
A whole chapter of early Texas history, settled into one quiet piece of Goliad County — started by a man who came when Texas was just beginning, and stayed until the very end.
What the marker says
Virginia native John Freeman Pettus (b. 1808) came to Texas in the early 1820s as a member of Stephen F. Austin's first colony. During the Texas Revolution he served with Ben Milam in the Siege of Bexar and participated in the Battle of San Jacinto. Soon after moving his family to Goliad County about 1876, he chose this site near his home as the family burial ground. Pettus died in 1878 and was the first buried here. Graves include those of 3 other Austin colonists: Elizabeth Pettus, Sarah Pettus and Phoebe Scott; and a San Jacinto veteran, James Austin Clements. (1981)