DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Robert B. Longbotham — born December 29, 1797, in Sunderland, England — now there's a man who didn't stay put.
He crossed an ocean as a carpenter's apprentice on a ship, which right there tells you something about the kind of fellow he was: young, willing, and heading somewhere new. He landed in America, and by 1820 he'd found enough footing in Alabama to marry a woman named Lucy Haggard. But staying in one place was never really his style.
By 1832, he had made his way to Texas. Three years after that, in 1835, he obtained a land grant from Mexico — this being the era when that's how land grants in Texas worked. Then came 1836, and Robert Longbotham did what a whole lot of Texas men had to decide about: he fought in the Texas Revolution.
That wasn't the end of the fighting either. In 1839 he was back at it, this time in the Indian wars. The man had seen some things.
Then, in 1848, he located here — right here in Freestone County — and apparently the place took to him as much as he took to it. The township was named for him. Think about that.
The whole township carried the name Longbotham. It held that name until 1874, when the post office was renamed Wortham. So the name on the map changed, but the man's mark on the place didn't.
Longbotham Lodge No. 428 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons was named in his honor, and his descendants went on to be prominent in Texas. Robert B. Longbotham died August 6, 1883.
He'd come a long way from Sunderland — and he left a longer trail behind him than most men ever do.
What the marker says
(Dec. 29, 1797 - Aug. 6, 1883) Born in Sunderland, England. Came to America as carpenter's apprentice on a ship. Married Lucy Haggard, 1820, in Alabama. Came to Texas, 1832. Obtained land grant from Mexico, 1835. In 1836 fought in Texas Revolution and in 1839 in Indian wars. In 1848 located here. Township was named for him until post office was renamed Wortham in 1874. Descendants prominent in texas. Longbotham Lodge No. 428, A.F. & A.M. named in his honor.