DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, this stretch of Trinity Bay, three miles south of Anahuac, has been called Round Point since at least 1828 — and if you know anything about early Texas, you know that a piece of land with a name that old has seen some things. Anson Taylor was the man who settled here that year.
Born in South Carolina, he'd made his way through Tennessee before bringing his wife Elizabeth and their five children to this point on the bay. The Taylors put down roots. And from those roots grew a family whose name would echo through one of the most storied moments in Texas history.
Three of their sons — James, George, and Edward — were later killed in the battle of the Alamo during Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. Three sons. One family.
Let that settle over you like morning fog on the bay. Anson Taylor himself didn't live to see it. He died in 1831.
Around 1840, a man named Thomas Jefferson Chambers — born in 1802, and yes, the very man the county of Chambers is named for — assumed ownership of this property on the Anson Taylor survey. Now, Chambers was an early Texas attorney and statesman, and he was not a man who held his land quietly. He found himself in several disputes over possession of Round Point, and in one such argument, he fatally wounded an area resident named John O'Brien.
The land, the disputes, the blood — Round Point had collected quite a history by the time 1866 rolled around, when clear title was finally restored to Anson Taylor's heirs. Elizabeth Taylor Moss, one of those heirs, eventually sold the land to Philip and Caroline Huffman, who built their home right here on the point. But even that wasn't the end of it.
By 1904, Round Point was back in court, with many area residents claiming part-ownership of the property. Some land just draws trouble the way a porch light draws moths. Round Point remains significant today — not just for the legal battles, not just for Thomas J.
Chambers — but for its association with the Taylor family, a family that gave three sons to the Alamo and left a name on this bay that's been spoken for nearly two centuries.
What the marker says
This area on Trinity Bay, three miles south of the town of Anahuac, was called Round Point as early as 1828 when Anson Taylor (1791-1831) settled here. A native of South Carolina, Taylor emigrated to Texas from Tennessee with his wife, Elizabeth, and their five children. The Taylors' three sons, James, george, and edward, later were killed in the battle of the alamo during Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico. About 1840 Thomas Jefferson Chambers (1802-1865), for whom the county of Chambers is named, assumed ownership of this property on the Anson Taylor survey. The early Texas attorney and statesman was involved in several disputes over possession of the land and fatally wounded area resident John O'Brien in one such argument. By 1866, however, clear title to Round Point had been restored to Anson Taylor's heirs. Elizabeth Taylor Moss later sold the land to Philip and Caroline Huffman, who built their home here. Round Point was the subject of further legal battles over possession in 1904, as many area residents claimed part-ownership in the property. An important site in the early history of the Anahuac area, Round Point remains significant for its association with the Taylor family and with Thomas J. Chambers.