DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and friends, this one deserves every word. Now, most men slow down somewhere around, oh, let's say their eighties. Stephen Scallorn was not most men.
Born in Maryland in 1787, he'd already lived in Kentucky and Tennessee — practicing medicine, staying active in the Primitive Baptist Church — before the word came that changed everything. That word came from his oldest son, John Wesley Scallorn, who had served with the Texas Army at the Battle of San Jacinto. John Wesley's accounts of this new Republic were, apparently, favorable enough to move a man.
So Stephen Scallorn packed up. And so did his brother William. The two of them brought their families to Texas in 1837 and 1838 and settled in the vicinity of Plum Creek, out in Fayette County.
Now, you put two Scallorn brothers down in new territory and something's going to get built. Sure enough, they were instrumental in the formation of the Hopewell Baptist Church — described right on the marker as an important early church in Texas. Later, doctrinal disagreements divided things, and the brothers helped form separate fellowships.
That's a polite way of saying a church argument split the room, which, if you've ever attended a Baptist meeting, requires no further explanation. But here is where the story turns heavy, and you ought to sit with this part. Two of Stephen's sons — John Wesley and Elam — died in defense of the Republic.
They were members of Captain Nicholas Dawson's outfit. In 1842, near San Antonio, they were attacked by Mexican forces. And they were killed.
A father who had followed his son's hopeful letters all the way to Texas outlived two of those sons in the worst way a father can. Stephen kept going. He helped establish an Upton congregation at the age of ninety-eight.
Ninety-eight years old, still organizing churches. He had been twice married. He was the father of fourteen children.
He lived in Bastrop County with his son Francis. And Stephen Scallorn died at the age of one hundred, and was buried in the Scallorn Family Cemetery nearby. Maryland to Kentucky to Tennessee to Texas, two wives, fourteen children, a century of living, and he was still building churches near the end.
The marker's been standing since 1981, but the Scallorn name was already written into this ground long before that.
What the marker says
Maryland native Stephen Scallorn (1787-1887) lived in Kentucky and Tennessee, where he practiced medicine and was active in the Primitive Baptist Church, before moving to Texas. He was attracted to the Republic by the favorable accounts of his oldest son John Wesley Scallorn, who had served with the Texas Army at the Battle of San Jacinto. Stephen Scallorn and his brother William came to Texas with their families in 1837-38 and settled in the vicinity of Plum Creek in Fayette County. There they were instrumental in the formation of the Hopewell Baptist church, an important early church in Texas. Later divided by doctrinal disagreements, the brothers helped form separate fellowships. Two of Scallorn's sons, John Wesley and Elam, died in defense of the Republic. Members of Capt. Nicholas Dawson's outfit, they were attacked by Mexican forces near San Antonio in 1842 and killed. Scallorn remained active in church organization and helped establish an Upton congregation at the age of 98. Twice married and the father of 14 children, he lived in Bastrop County with his son Francis. Stephen Scallorn died at the age of 100 and was buried in the nearby Scallorn Family Cemetery. (1981)