Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor (1793-1873)

Duane's take

The official marker tells this one, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Now, if you've ever driven past a Baylor University banner and wondered about the name on it, well, pull up a chair. The man behind that name lived a life so full it sounds like three men's worth, maybe four.

Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor. Born in 1793. Kentucky native.

He started his public life with a rifle in his hand, serving in the War of 1812 and the Creek Indian War, and by the time the smoke cleared he'd earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Not a bad opening chapter. Then he put down the rifle and picked up a law book.

Successes in law and politics followed, first in Kentucky, then in Alabama. But Texas was calling, the way Texas has a habit of doing. In 1839, he crossed into the republic and taught school at La Grange.

He eventually settled at a place called Gay Hill, seven miles west of where this marker stands, and he built himself a home there. He named it Holly Oak. Now, 1839 was a big year for R.E.B.

Baylor in more ways than one. That same year, he converted to Christianity. And once a man of his energy found a cause, he found it completely.

The courts kept him busy too. He served as judge of the Third Judicial District and as associate justice of the Republic of Texas Supreme Court from 1841 to 1845. When Texas joined the union, he kept right on as district judge, gavel in hand, until he retired in 1863.

He was a Mason, serving as Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Texas. He was a teacher who accepted no pay for teaching law classes. He was, by all accounts, a man who found payment enough in the work itself.

But it was perhaps as a Baptist leader that Baylor received his greatest recognition. In 1841 he helped found the Texas Baptist Education Society. Then, alongside W.M.

Tryon and J.G. Thomas, he got to work on something bigger. A Baptist university for Texas.

The institution was chartered in 1845 as Baylor University, and it opened its doors the following year at Independence. It included a female department, which was later chartered separately as Baylor Female College. Baylor served as a trustee for both institutions.

He taught. He never took a dime for the teaching. Judge R.E.B.

Baylor died on December 30, 1873. He was buried right here, on the Windmill Hill campus. The university he'd helped bring into the world moved to Waco in 1886.

And then in 1917, his remains were reburied at Baylor Female College, which today goes by the name Mary Hardin-Baylor University, over in Belton. This marker stands for the years he spent here, the years from which, as the marker puts it, his influence spread worldwide and is still in evidence today. Lieutenant Colonel.

Judge. Trustee. Teacher.

Baptist leader. Founder. The man wore a lot of hats, and somehow every one of them fit.

What the marker says

R.E.B. Baylor, for whom Baylor University is named, was a prominent leader in diverse arenas of public service: military, judicial, political, educational, fraternal and religious. A Kentucky native, he served in the War of 1812 and the Creek Indian War, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Following successes in law and politics in Kentucky and Alabama, he moved to Texas in 1839 and taught school at La Grange, later settling at Gay Hill (7 mi. W), where he built his home, Holly Oak. Baylor was judge of the Third Judicial District and associate justice of the Republic of Texas Supreme Court, 1841-45. He continued as district judge during statehood, retiring in 1863. A Mason, he was Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Texas. It was perhaps as a Baptist leader that Baylor received his greatest recognition. Converted to Christianity in 1839, he helped found the Texas Baptist Education Society in 1841. With W.M. Tryon and J.G. Thomas, he worked to start a Baptist university. Chartered in 1845 as Baylor University, it opened at Independence the following year and included a female department later chartered separately as Baylor Female College. Baylor served as a trustee for both institutions and taught law classes, accepting no pay for teaching. Judge R.E.B. Baylor died on Dec. 30, 1873, with burial here on the Windmill Hill campus. The university moved to Waco in 1886, and in 1917, reburial of his remains occurred at Baylor Female College (now Mary Hardin-Baylor University) in Belton. This marker commemorates the judge's productive years here, from which his influence spread worldwide and is still in evidence today. (2006)