Sylvester Adams

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Sylvester Adams. Born in Tennessee, he came to Texas as a youth, riding alongside his father into a land that had a way of shaping a man into something bigger than where he started.

He was a firm believer in the Confederate cause, and when the Civil War came calling, he answered it at Galveston. After the war, Adams turned his attention west, out to Runnels County, and he didn't just settle there. He helped organize the county itself, getting in on the ground floor of something new.

And when Runnels County needed its first county judge, well, they turned to Adams. He served from 1880 to 1884, and then again from 1886 to 1888. Now, that second stretch brought with it a particular kind of trouble.

A drought had come down hard on Runnels County in 1886 and 1887, the kind that makes the land look like it's given up entirely. Adams helped plan aid for his drouth-stricken neighbors, which sounds straightforward enough until you know the rest of it. Many of those neighbors, proud as the Texas sky is wide, flatly refused to take what they called charity relief.

You can almost hear it, can't you. A man offering help, and another man squaring his jaw and saying no thank you. Adams was a Democrat and a Baptist, raised three sons and three daughters, and by every account left Runnels County more organized than he found it.

Not a bad legacy for a boy from Tennessee.

What the marker says

Born in Tennessee, Adams as a youth came to Texas with his father. A firm believer in the Confederate cause, he served at Galveston during the Civil War. He helped organize Runnels County; was first county judge, 1880-1884; also served 1886-1888. He helped plan aid for his drouth-stricken county, 1886-1887, though many residents proudly refused to take "charity" relief. He was a Democrat and Baptist. He had 3 sons and 3 daughters.