DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it the tellin' it deserves. Now, James Power came into this world in Ireland in 1789, and when he finally left it, he left from Live Oak Point, Texas, in 1852 — and in between those two facts lies one of the great Texas stories you've probably never heard enough about. He crossed an ocean and found himself a country worth fighting for.
More than once. On January 11, 1828, Power and a man named James Hewetson were granted authority to settle two hundred families in Texas. Two hundred families.
That's not a small ambition. That's a vision. And Power set about making it real.
He served Texas under three flags — three — as empresario, soldier, and statesman. Most men are lucky to wear one hat in a lifetime. Power wore three, and wore them all with his chin up.
He signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Let that land for a second. The man who sailed out of Ireland in 1789 put his name on the document that said Texas would stand on its own.
The marker calls him ever a loyal son of his adopted country, and it means every word. Honored and loved by his people, it says. Erected by the State of Texas in 1936.
You're standing near the site of one of his homes — one of them — right here in Aransas County, on the Texas coast he helped build into something worth calling home. James Power. Born in Ireland.
Died in Texas. Seems about right.
What the marker says
Site of One of the Homes of James Power Born in Ireland, 1789 Died in Live Oak Point, Texas, 1852 With James Hewetson he was granted authority January 11, 1828 to settle 200 families in Texas Served Texas under three flags as empresario, soldier, statesman Signed the Texas Declaration of Independence Ever a loyal son of his adopted country Honored and loved by his people Erected by the State of Texas 1936