DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about S. Rhoads Fisher — and friend, this one's got layers. Now most folks blowing through Matagorda County wouldn't think twice about a county named Fisher.
But pull over a minute, because the man behind that name lived a life that packed more into a few short years than most manage in a lifetime. S. Rhoads Fisher.
Statesman. Businessman. And here's a detail that'll catch you off guard — a Quaker, born in Pennsylvania, who ended up right in the middle of one of the scrappiest fights for independence this continent ever saw.
He moved to Texas in 1830, and he didn't come to sit still. He set up a mercantile house and a shipping business right there in Matagorda. The Gulf was his front yard, commerce was his calling, and the politics of the day — well, they came looking for him whether he wanted them or not.
Santa Anna's dictatorship was making things mighty uncomfortable for Texas, and Fisher was among those who pushed back hard against those anti-Texas policies. The people of Matagorda took notice. They sent him as one of their delegates to the 1836 convention in Washington on the Brazos.
And when that gathering of Texans put pen to paper on the declaration of independence, S. Rhoads Fisher's name went right on it. But signing a declaration and defending one are two different things.
When the first regular administration of the Republic of Texas stood up under President Sam Houston, Fisher was tapped for the cabinet — Secretary of the Navy, October 1836. For a Quaker merchant from Pennsylvania, that is one remarkable office to hold. And then things got serious.
By March of 1837, Mexican blockaders were working the Gulf of Mexico, trying to strangle Texas into submission — capturing shipments, including those of the United States. They were aiming to reduce Texas to starvation, and they nearly had the ports of Galveston, Matagorda, and Velasco locked down tight. Here's where Fisher does something that the marker takes a moment to let sink in — Secretary Fisher went to sea.
Himself. With the Texas navy. The plan was to attack the Mexican coast, draw those blockaders away from the ports, relieve the pressure.
And for a stretch, it worked. Texas captured territory. Texas captured ships.
The enemy felt it. But the Gulf of Mexico is a jealous partner. Accidents happened.
Storms came. The navy — and the prizes they'd taken — were destroyed. In late 1837, Secretary Fisher resigned.
He went back to Matagorda. And in 1839, he died as the result of a shooting. Just like that, a man who had signed a declaration, led a navy into battle, and helped hold a republic together was gone.
He and his wife left behind four children. And that family kept on giving — several leaders in Texas state government have come from that line. The Republic he helped build eventually became a state, the state grew into something vast, and in 1876, when a new county needed a name, Texas reached back and chose his: Fisher.
Not a bad legacy for a Quaker merchant who once decided the Gulf of Mexico needed his personal attention.
What the marker says
Statesman - businessman who contributed talent and time to establish and maintain Texas Independence. A quaker; born in Pennsylvania. Moved to Texas 1830. Set up mercantile house and shipping business in Matagorda. Struggled against anti-Texas policies of Santa Anna's dictatorship in Mexico. Won election as one of Matagorda delegates to the 1836 convention in Washington on the Brazos. Signed Texas declaration of Independence. In first regular administration of Republic of Texas, became secretary of the navy in cabinet of president Sam Houston in October 1836. By March 1837 Mexican blockaders were trying to reduce Texas to starvation by capturing shipments including those of the U.S.A. -- on Gulf of Mexico. Secretary Fisher went to sea with the Texas navy to attack Mexican coast and draw blockaders away from ports of Galveston, Matagorda, and Velasco. Texas captured territory and ships of the enemy; but later accidents and storms destroyed the navy and prizes. In late 1837 secretary Fisher resigned. Back in Matagorda he died as result of a shooting in 1839. He and his wife had four children. Several leaders in state government have come from this family. In 1876 a new county was named in honor of S. Rhoads Fisher. (1968)