DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for the site of Richard Ellis's Texas home — here's how I tell it. Now, some men are born to one place and claimed by another. Richard Ellis was that kind of man.
He came into this world on February 14, 1781, a Virginian — born there, educated there, shaped by that old commonwealth soil. But Virginia couldn't hold him forever. He made his way to Alabama, where he served as jurist and statesman from 1813 to 1825.
That's a solid run — the kind of record that earns a man a reputation worth carrying with him. And carry it he did. In 1825, Richard Ellis came to Texas.
Now Texas in 1825 was not Texas as you know it. It was a place still becoming itself, still working out what it wanted to be. Turns out, it needed men who knew something about law and governance and the weight of a decision.
March 1836. Remember that month. The Constitutional Convention assembled, and the delegates looked around the room and chose Richard Ellis to preside over it.
President of the Constitutional Convention. The man from Virginia, seasoned in Alabama, now sitting at the head of the table as Texas reached for something no one was entirely sure it could hold onto. That is not a small thing to have on your ledger.
After that, he served as a member of the Congress of the Republic of Texas. The man kept working, kept showing up. He died right here — on this very ground — on December 20, 1846.
Virginia gave him his start. Alabama gave him his credentials. Texas gave him his place in history, and in the end, Texas is where he stayed.
The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936, honoring the site of his Texas home. Fitting, maybe, that the state he helped bring into being would come back around to remember where he fell.
What the marker says
A Virginian by birth and education - Jurist and statesman of Alabama, 1813-1825 - Came to Texas, 1825 - President of the Constitutional Convention, March 1836, and member of the Congress of the Republic of Texas - Born February 14, 1781 - Died here December 20, 1846 Erected by the State of Texas 1936