DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Sarah Bradley Dodson — and friend, this one deserves every word. She was born in Kentucky in 1812, and by the time she was eleven years old, Sarah Bradley and her parents had made their way to Texas — 1823, rolling in with Stephen F. Austin's old three hundred colonists, settling near Brazoria.
Young Sarah grew up in that raw, uncertain country, and in the spring of 1835, she married Archelaus Bynum Dodson, who hailed from nearby Harrisburg. May 17, 1835. Remember that date, because the world was about to shift underneath everyone's boots.
Tensions between Mexico and the Texian colonists had been building like a summer storm, and by September of 1835 a call went out for military volunteers. Archelaus Dodson answered it — became First Lieutenant in Captain Andrew Robinson's Harrisburg Volunteers. Now, a man heading off to uncertain business needs something to march behind, and Sarah Dodson had a notion about that.
She offered to design and make a flag for her husband's company. Think about what she had to work with: blue, white, and red calico. From that, she fashioned a flag of three equal squares, with a five-pointed white star set right in the center of the blue square.
Simple. Bold. The kind of thing you don't forget once you've seen it.
That banner was displayed in the town of Gonzales in October 1835. And in December, it flew during the Siege of Bexar. It is reportedly the first Lone Star flag Texas ever had.
Then came the Declaration of Independence, and over Convention Hall two flags were seen flying. One was described as a Lone Star flag — and it is believed to have been the very one Sarah Dodson stitched together from calico. After the Texan victory at San Jacinto, the Dodsons built their life, living in Fort Bend County before moving in 1844 to Grimes County.
They donated the land for Bethel Cemetery, five miles north of where this marker stands. And it was there, in 1848, that Sarah Dodson was buried. A woman with some calico, a clear eye, and steady hands — and the flag she made flew over the birth of a republic.
That's not a small thing. That's everything.
What the marker says
Born in Kentucky in 1812, eleven-year-old Sarah Bradley and her parents arrived in Texas in 1823 with Stephen F. Austin's old three hundred colonists, settling near Brazoria. Sarah married Archelaus Bynum Dodson of nearby Harrisburg on May 17, 1835. As tensions mounted between Mexico and the Texian colonists, a call for military volunteers was circulated in September 1835, and Archelaus Dodson became First Lt. in Captain Andrew Robinson's Harrisburg Volunteers. Sarah offered to design and make a flag for her husband's company. Using blue, white, and red calico, she fashioned a flag of three equal squares, with a five pointed white star in the center of the blue square. Reportedly the first Lone Star flag, the banner was displayed in the town of Gonzales in October 1835, and in December flew during the Siege of Bexar. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, two flags were seen flying over Convention Hall. One was described as a Lone Star flag and is believed to have been the one made by Sarah Dodson. Following the Texan victory at San Jacinto, the Dodsons lived in Fort Bend County, then moved in 1844 to Grimes County. They donated the land for Bethel Cemetery (5 mi. N) where Sarah was buried in 1848. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986