DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about a woman who met this land on its hardest terms. Sarah Howard. That name at the end of a long chain of names — Creath, McSherry, Hibbens, Stinnett, Howard — and every one of those names tells you something about what she endured.
Sarah was born in Illinois, and in 1828 she came to Texas with her husband, John McSherry. The next year — one year into this new life — John was killed near their home by Indians. One year.
Sarah was already learning what Texas could cost a person. She went on. She married John Hibbens.
And then the frontier reached for her again. Indians took the lives of John Hibbens and Sarah's brother near this very site. And this time, Sarah and her two sons were taken captive.
She alone escaped. She made it out. Her youngest son did not come back with her — but eventually, her oldest son was returned unharmed.
The marker does not tell us what that wait felt like. It doesn't have to. In 1836, Sarah married Claiborne Stinnett.
Two years later, he was killed by runaway slaves. In 1839, Sarah married Colonel Phillip Howard in Gonzales. Four husbands.
Captivity. Loss on loss on loss. And still she stood in Gonzales in 1839 and made a life.
The marker says Sarah epitomizes the Texas pioneer woman by her determination and will to survive. I'd say that's about as understated as Texas gets — and in Texas, that's saying something.
What the marker says
SARAH HOWARD SUFFERED MUCH AT THE SAVAGERY OF THE TEXAS WILDERNESS. BORN IN ILLINOIS, SARAH CAME TO TEXAS WITH HER HUSBAND, JOHN McSHERRY, IN 1828. THE NEXT YEAR, JOHN WAS KILLED NEAR THEIR HOME BY INDIANS. SARAH LATER MARRIED JOHN HIBBENS, BUT INDIANS TOOK THE LIVES OF JOHN AND SARAH’S BROTHER NEAR THIS SITE. SARAH AND HER TWO SONS WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE, AND SHE ALONE ESCAPED. EVENTUALLY, SARAH’S OLDEST SON WAS RETURNED UNHARMED. IN 1836, SARAH MARRIED CLAIBORNE STINNETT. TWO YEARS LATER, HE WAS KILLED BY RUNAWAY SLAVES. IN 1839, SARAH MARRIED COL. PHILLIP HOWARD IN GONZALES. SARAH EPITOMIZES THE TEXAS PIONEER WOMAN BY HER DETERMINATION AND WILL TO SURVIVE.