Robert Bruce Blake

Duane's take

The marker tells it one way, and here's how Duane tells it back to you. Born in Moscow, over in Polk County, Texas, to Robert Bruce Blake Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth Pratt Blake, young Robert Bruce Blake Jr. came into the world in 1877. Now, you might not know his name the way you know the names of generals or governors, but I'd argue what this man left behind matters just as much as any of them.

Maybe more. Because Robert Bruce Blake Jr. spent his life rescuing the past from the slow, quiet disaster of being forgotten. He married Belle Patten in 1921, and the two of them moved to Nacogdoches, where Robert took a position as court reporter and county clerk.

Routine work, you might think. Paperwork, filings, the ordinary machinery of county government. But here's the thing about working in an old courthouse in east Texas.

The archives hold documents that go back to when this land was Spanish, then Mexican, then the Republic of Texas. And Robert Blake, surrounded by all that, was inspired. Not just curious.

Inspired. He began the painstaking work of translating and typing those old documents, one page at a time. Then came the Texas Centennial of 1936, and the State of Texas authorized publication of numerous historical materials.

They tasked Blake with writing a booklet on Nacogdoches. On top of that, he was selected to determine the locations for granite markers honoring three Spanish missions, a presidio, and other historic sites. The man was quietly becoming one of the most important historians in the state, doing the kind of slow, deliberate work that doesn't make headlines but absolutely holds history together.

People took notice. In 1942, Blake and his family moved to Austin, where he continued his research at the Texas State Archives and the Barker Texas History Center Archives, most likely assisted by Winnie Allen and her team. And what came out of all that work, all those years, all those pages?

Ninety-three volumes. Three hundred to four hundred pages each. Around thirty-five thousand pages in total.

That collection, known as the Robert Bruce Blake Collection, contains documents relating to the Nacogdoches County clerk from 1792 to 1837, the entire minutes of the Nacogdoches town council from 1828 to 1835, correspondence of Governors Salcedo and Martinez, applications for land grants, muster rolls for the Texas Revolution, boundary disputes, and much more. Robert Bruce Blake Jr. died in 1955. And what he left behind, those thirty-five thousand pages of translated, typed, preserved history, has proven invaluable to generations of historians ever since.

One man. One courthouse. One staggering act of devotion to the record.

That's the story the marker wants you to carry down the road.

What the marker says

Born in Moscow (Polk Co.), Texas, to Robert Bruce Blake Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth (Pratt) Blake, Robert Bruce Blake Jr. (1877-1955) was an important historian, translator and compiler of early Spanish, Mexican and Republic of Texas documents and archives in east Texas. Robert Jr. married Belle Patten in 1921, and the couple moved to Nacogdoches where Robert took a position as court reporter and county clerk. At the courthouse, he was exposed to the rich history of the old documents in the archives. He was inspired to painstakingly translate and type these old documents. During the approach of the Texas Centennial in 1936, the State of Texas authorized publication of numerous historical materials and tasked Blake with writing a booklet on Nacogdoches. Additionally, he was selected to determine the locations for granite markers honoring three Spanish missions, a presidio and other historic sites. Several took notice of Blake's work, and in 1942, Blake and his family moved to Austin where he continued his research at the Texas State Archives and the Barker Texas History Center Archives, where he was most likely assisted by Winnie Allen and her team. The cumulation of his research, 93 volumes of 300-400 pages each, is known as the Robert Bruce Blake Collection. In total, the collection is about 35,000 pages in length. Among the collection are documents relating to the Nacogdoches County clerk (1792-1837), the entire minutes of Nacogdoches town council (1828-1835), correspondence of Governors Salcedo and Martinez, applications for land grants, muster rolls for the Texas Revolution, boundary disputes and much more. Robert Blake's contribution to early Texas history has proven invaluable to the generations of historians who benefit from his monumental work. (2022)