DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna take you through every word. Now, some stories have a way of starting small — a schoolteacher settling into a new county — and ending up echoing all the way to Washington, D.C. This is one of those stories.
Pull up a chair. Joseph Wilson Baines was born in 1846, son of George W. Baines, who was himself a minister, an editor, and president of Baylor University.
A family already accustomed to leaving marks on things. Joseph came to Collin County in 1867, and he started the way a lot of ambitious young men started — teaching school. But by 1869 he'd married Ruth Huffman, daughter of a physician of the Peters Colony, and that was just the beginning of his building.
He read law under ex-governor James W. Throckmorton — not a bad mentor to have — began his own practice, edited the McKinney Advocate, and helped organize and build the city's first Baptist church. The man was not one for sitting still.
And right here, at this very site, he and Ruth were living when their daughter Rebekah came into the world. That was 1881. Joseph Baines went on to serve as Texas Secretary of State from 1883 to 1887, later practiced law down in Blanco and Fredericksburg, and came back to the legislature in 1903 and 1904.
Not a bad run for a schoolteacher who showed up in Collin County with not much but ambition and a good name. Now, Rebekah Baines — born right here — she studied at Baylor College in Belton, became a teacher herself, became a journalist. The acorn didn't fall far from the oak.
In 1907, she married a man named Sam Early Johnson, Jr., born in 1877. Sam was a rancher, a former schoolteacher, and he'd already served in the Texas Legislature from 1905 through 1908. The two of them ranched together in the Hill Country, published the Johnson City Record-Courier, served in the legislature again from 1917 through 1923, and raised five children.
Five. Their eldest was born in 1908. They named him Lyndon Baines Johnson.
He'd go on to a long career in the national Congress — and then, well. The 36th president of the United States. It all started with a schoolteacher riding into Collin County in 1867, marrying a doctor's daughter, and settling down right here.
Some spots of ground carry more history than they know.
What the marker says
Joseph Wilson Baines (1846-1906), son of minister editor-Baylor University President George W. Baines, settled in Collin county in 1867. He taught school and in 1869 married Ruth Huffman, daughter of a physician of the Peters Colony. Baines read law under ex-governor James W. Throckmorton, began his practice, edited the McKinney "Advocate", and helped organize and build the city's first Baptist church. He and his wife lived at this site when their child Rebekah was born. Baines served 1883 to 1887 as Texas Secretary of State, later practiced law in Blanco and Fredericksburg, and was a legislator in 1903-1904. Rebekah Baines (1881-1958) studied at Baylor College in Belton and became a teacher and journalist. In 1907 she married Sam Early Johnson, Jr. (1877-1937), a rancher and former schoolteacher who also served in the Texas Legislature from 1905 through 1908 and from 1917 through 1923. The couple continued to ranch in the Hill Country, published the Johnson City "Record-Courier", and were parents of five children. Their eldest, Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973), after a long career in the national Congress, served as the 36th president of the United States. (1976)