DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'll do my best to give it the telling it deserves. William T. Sadler.
That name is right there carved in Anderson County, and behind it sits a life worth pausing on. Born in Tennessee on July 27, 1797, this man would go on to stand at San Jacinto — one of those veterans of the battle that changed everything about what this land would become. He carried that distinction all the way through a long life, finally laying down on February 18, 1884.
Think about that — born in 1797, gone in 1884. The world he entered and the world he left were barely the same planet. And beside him in that Anderson County earth rests his wife, Permelia Bennett Sadler, born March 13, 1818.
She passed on December 6, 1866, nearly two decades before her husband. The marker doesn't spin out their whole story — doesn't need to. A veteran of San Jacinto and the woman who stood with him.
Sometimes the stone says just enough, and the Texas wind carries the rest.
What the marker says
Veteran of San Jacinto - Born in Tennessee July 27, 1797 - Died February 18,1884 - His wife Permelia Bennett Sadler - Born March 13, 1818 - Died December 6, 1866