DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Now, some families pass down a name. Some pass down a trade.
But the Fitzgeralds and the Fenns — they passed down a knack for showing up right at the hinge of history, again and again, like they had an appointment with Texas and weren't about to be late. David Fitzgerald came first. A veteran of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, this man had already seen more history than most people read in a lifetime before he ever set foot in Texas.
He came from Georgia in 1821, which — if you know your Texas timeline — means he arrived before there was a Texas to speak of. Then came his son-in-law, Eli Fenn, following in 1832. And Eli didn't just settle in quiet.
He served during the Texas Revolution, and in 1837 he put his name on the petition for the creation of Fort Bend County itself. That's not a man standing on the sidelines of history — that's a man helping draw the map. Now, Eli's wife Sarah, she had her own kind of power.
She was an expert in natural remedies, and she put that knowledge to work aiding sick residents around her. In a time and place where a doctor might be a hard day's ride away, that meant something. That meant everything to somebody.
Their son John R. Fenn carried the family torch in his own directions. War veteran, businessman, and Duke's first Postmaster — the very first.
His wife Rebecca, born a Williams, was a charter member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. And their eldest child, F.M.O. Fenn, climbed the civic ladder rung by rung — County Attorney, then Justice of the Peace.
And here's the moment that lands just right: in 1893, the Sons of the Republic of Texas organized right there in F.M.O. Fenn's office in Richmond. The grandson of a man who helped petition Fort Bend County into existence opened his doors so that organization could take its first breath.
Sarah, John R., and Rebecca Fenn rest today in the Duke Cemetery — three markers in the ground for a family that left a whole lot more than markers behind.
What the marker says
David Fitzgerald, a veteran of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, came to Texas from Georgia in 1821.His son-in-law, Eli Fenn, followed in 1832. Fenn served during the Texas Revolution and signed the 1837 petition for the creation of Fort Bend County. An expert in natural remedies, his wife Sarah aided sick residents. One of their sons, John R. Fenn, was a war veteran, Duke's first Postmaster and a businessman. His wife, Rebecca (Williams), was a charter member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. F.M.O. Fenn, John and Rebecca's eldest child, served as County Attorney and later as Justice of the Peace. In 1893, the Sons of the Republic of Texas organized in his office in Richmond. Sarah, John R. and Rebecca Fenn are buried in the Duke Cemetery. (2008)