DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, I'm following the official marker — so let's give the man his due. Now, most folks know the name Baylor. But I'd wager a good many of them couldn't tell you the man behind it.
So pull up close, because Robert Emmet Bledsoe Baylor — born in 1793, died in 1873 — was not a simple man, and his story is anything but short. He started out in Kentucky, his native state, where he was already serving in the legislature before most men had figured out what they wanted for breakfast. Then it was on to Alabama, where he served in that legislature too, and went so far as to represent Alabama in the United States Congress from 1829 to 1831.
Lawmaker, judge, lay preacher — he wore those titles the way a working man wears boots. Necessary, and worn in. Then 1839 comes along, and Robert Emmet Bledsoe Baylor comes to Texas.
And Texas, as Texas tends to do, put him straight to work. By 1840 he was Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, and he held that post until 1846. After that, he stepped down to the 3rd Judicial District as its judge — a position he kept all the way through 1863.
Now here is where the story starts to breathe. That 3rd Judicial District covered eight counties. Eight.
And Baylor had to organize courts in those counties himself. So picture this: the man packs his saddlebags — and I want you to notice he carries his Bible right alongside his law books, because that detail matters — he rides into a town, holds court for a week, and then, instead of resting, he stays on through Sunday to preach. Then come Monday morning, he swings back up on that horse and rides as far as fifty miles to hold court again.
Fifty miles. On a horse. To hold court.
On a Monday morning. Some of us can barely manage a Monday morning with coffee. And the courts he presided over were no small affairs.
While Texas was still finding its footing, Baylor sat on the bench as the state pioneered such legal rights as community property and homestead exemption. Those protections, hammered out in those early Texas courts, are now accepted throughout the United States and much of the world. The ground he stood on was new.
What grew from it spread everywhere. Then the Civil War comes down on everything like a weight. Baylor was one of twenty judges — himself and nineteen others — serving in Confederate Texas, and together they wrestled with wartime matters that had no clean answers.
Seizure of aliens' property. Conscription of soldiers. Exemption by substitution.
And flowing through the district courts alongside all of that were suits involving slaves, land, personal property, contracts, and debts. Criminal charges too — assault, slander, fraud, murder. The docket did not thin out just because the times were hard.
Through all of it, Baylor helped organize Baptist churches, Masonic lodges, and the Texas State Baptist Convention. And for his leadership in their founding, two institutions were named for him: Baylor University, and Mary Hardin-Baylor College. A lawmaker before Texas was a state.
A justice when Texas was still a republic. A judge through war. A preacher on Sundays.
A fifty-mile rider on Monday mornings. Robert Emmet Bledsoe Baylor didn't just witness the building of Texas — he was one of the men doing the building, Bible in one hand and law book in the other, horse already pointed toward the next county.
What the marker says
(1793-1873) Noted lawmaker, judge, lay preacher, served in the legislatures of his native Kentucky and of Alabama. Represented Alabama in U.S. Congress, 1829-1831. Came to Texas 1839. Was Associate Justice Supreme Court, Republic of Texas, 1840-1846. Judge 3rd Judicial District, 1846--1863. Helped organize Baptist churches, Masonic lodges, Texas State Baptist Convention. For leadership in their founding, Baylor University and Mary Hardin-Baylor College were named for him. Had to organize courts in some of the 8 counties of his 3rd Judicial District. He carried Bible along with law books. After week of court, he would remain in a town to preach on Sunday, then ride his horse as far as 50 miles to hold court on Monday morning. Was a judge when Texas pioneered such legal rights as community property and homestead exemption, now accepted throughout the U.S. and much of the world. (1965) Baylor and 19 other State Judges in Confederate Texas considered such wartime matters as seizure of aliens' property, conscription of soldiers, and exemption by substitution. Involved in many suits were slaves, land, personal property, contracts and debts. Such criminal charges as assault, slander, fraud and murder were also tried in District Courts. (1965)