DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it like this, and I'm here to pass it along. Now, before there was a thirty-sixth president of the United States, before there was a Lyndon Baines Johnson in the history books, there was a great-grandfather. And that great-grandfather — well, he's a story all on his own.
The Reverend George Washington Baines was born in 1809 in North Carolina, and he came up the hard way — reared on a farm, no formal schooling to speak of. But somewhere in that upbringing, the boy found a drive that a classroom couldn't have given him anyway. He worked his way through the University of Alabama.
Worked his way through. Let that sit a moment. When he was licensed to preach at age twenty-five, he became the third generation of his family to enter the ministry.
Three generations deep, that calling ran in the Baines blood like a current. He moved to Texas in 1850, and Texas, it turns out, suited him. His reputation as a wise and peace-loving clergyman continued to grow out here.
He held offices in the Baptist State Convention. And in 1855, he founded the Pioneer Texas Baptist newspaper — put the word in print, not just in the pews. Now here's where the story takes a turn, because 1861 was not a gentle year for anyone.
The Civil War broke out, and Baylor University — sitting there at Independence — was torn up by strife. Most men would've stepped back from that particular fire. George Washington Baines stepped into it.
He accepted the presidency of that strife-ridden institution and guided it for two crucial years, from 1861 to 1863. And we should note: the university he presided over included what is now Mary-Hardin-Baylor College. Now, there's something the marker wants you to know about this man, something that paints him in full color.
He was plagued constantly by ill health — constantly — and yet he was noted for his stamina. The people who knew him admired his learning, sure. They admired his marksmanship too.
A Baptist minister with a steady aim and a sickly constitution who somehow outlasted both — that's Texas, friends. In 1867 he moved to Salado, right here in Bell County. He kept preaching, kept working for Baptist education, and he lived in Salado until the end.
The end came by way of malarial fever. He is buried in Salado. He'd been married twice, left behind ten children, and lived from 1809 to 1882.
The marker doesn't linger on the connection — it just states it plainly, the way a good preacher might: great-grandfather of Lyndon Baines Johnson, thirty-sixth president of the United States. One man, farm-raised, self-made, planting something in this Texas soil. And whatever it was — that stamina, that drive, that willingness to walk into the hardest room — it didn't stop with him.
What the marker says
(1809-1882) Renowned Baptist minister in early Texas history; president from 1861 to 1863 of Baylor University (which included what is now Mary-Hardin-Baylor College); great-grandfather of Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th president of the United States. Born in North Carolina and reared without formal schooling on a farm, Baines worked his way through the University of Alabama. When licensed to preach at age 25 he became the third generation of his family to enter the ministry. Moved to Texas in 1850. Here his reputation as a wise and peace-loving clergyman continued to grow. He held offices in the Baptist State Convention and founded the Pioneer "Texas Baptist" newspaper, in 1855. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he accepted the presidency of strife-ridden Baylor University (at Independence) and guided it for two crucial years. Although plagued constantly by ill health, Baines was noted for his stamina. Parishioners also admired his marksmanship as well as his learning. In 1867 he moved to Salado. Preaching and working for Baptist education, he lived there until his death of malarial fever. He is buried in Salado. Twice married, Baines had ten children. (1972)