DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Robert Graves Stadler, out here in Cherokee County. Now settle in, because this man lived what you might call a full hand of cards before he ever drove a single fence post into East Texas soil. Robert Graves Stadler came into this world in Granville County, North Carolina, and before he was done, he'd fought in not one but two wars — the War of 1812 and the Texas War of Independence.
Two wars. Most folks figure one is plenty. Robert Graves Stadler, apparently, did not get that memo.
By the time he was through with the fighting, he turned his eye toward something more permanent. In 1845, he purchased land out in this part of Cherokee County, settling near a community called Griffin, already established about two miles to the southeast. Now, he wasn't planting roots just for himself.
No sir. By 1853, Stadler had done something that takes a particular kind of persuasion — he'd convinced relatives back in North Carolina to pack up their lives and make their homes here alongside him. You think about what that means.
Letters traveling slow, roads traveling slower, and yet here came the family, drawn out to East Texas on the strength of one man's word that it was worth the trouble. He laid the foundation for what would become the farming community of Blackjack. And then — just as the Civil War began cracking the country open at its seams — Robert Graves Stadler died.
He didn't see what came after. But the community he'd coaxed into existence out of raw Cherokee County land? That kept growing right on without him.
What the marker says
Born in Granville County, North Carolina, Robert Graves Stadler was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Texas War of Independence. He purchased land in this area in 1845 and settled near the already established community of Griffin (2 mi, SE). By 1853, Stadler had encouraged relatives from North Caroline to make their homes here. He died just as the Civil War began, having laid the foundation for what became the farming community of Blackjack.