DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and this one's got enough trail in it to fill a whole campfire night. Thomas Hudson Barron came into this world on March 8, 1796, in Virginia, the son of John M. and Susan Mattingly Barron. The family pulled up stakes and moved to Kentucky in 1805, and young Thomas — well, he wasn't the kind to sit still for long.
In November of 1814, he joined the Kentucky Militia and participated in the Battle of New Orleans. That right there is a thing worth pausing on. The Battle of New Orleans.
Thomas Hudson Barron was in it. He married Elizabeth Carnall in 1820, out in the Arkansas Territory, and the two of them set their eyes on something bigger. They joined the Austin colony and came to Texas in 1822.
Now, they stayed just one year before heading back to Arkansas — sometimes Texas has to let you go before it can pull you back for good. And pull them back it did. The Barrons settled permanently in Texas in 1830, and if you need proof, there they are, listed by name in Stephen F.
Austin's 1831 Registry of Families. That's as official as it gets. They built a home in Independence, that home was later purchased by Sam Houston.
Let that sink in a moment. Sam Houston bought the Barron house. Thomas and Elizabeth then joined the Sterling C.
Robertson colony in the mid-1830s, and by 1837, Thomas wasn't just a settler anymore — he was the Ranger captain in charge of establishing Fort Fisher on the Brazos River. The man was out here building the bones of Texas. Elizabeth Barron gave birth to twelve children before she died.
Twelve. Thomas then married Mary Jane Shelton in 1846 at Falls-on-the-Brazos, and together they became the parents of ten children. They were among the earliest settlers in the area that would become Waco.
Now Waco kept Thomas Hudson Barron busy. He served as clerk of the first McLennan County Court in 1850, and then clerk of the first District Court in 1851. In the 1850s, he built Waco's first steam mill.
The 1860s found him serving as McLennan County Tax Assessor, even after he'd moved over to Falls County. The man seemed constitutionally unable to step away from public life, and Texas seemed constitutionally unable to stop needing him. A street, a school, and a creek in Waco were all named for Barron.
Three things. That's how a place says thank you. Thomas Hudson Barron died at Masterville — a town later known as Bruceville — and was interred at the Tom Cox Cemetery in that area.
He was born on March 8, 1796. He died on February 2, 1874. In 1976, his grave was moved to this very site.
All that ground he covered — Virginia, Kentucky, New Orleans, Arkansas, Independence, the Brazos, Waco — and here's where he rests. Fitting that the road came to him in the end.
What the marker says
(March 8, 1796 - February 2,1874) Thomas Hudson Barron, the son of John M. and Susan Mattingly Barron, was born in Virginia. The family moved to Kentucky in 1805. Thomas joined the Kentucky Militia in November 1814 and participated in the Battle of New Orleans. He married Elizabeth Carnall in 1820 in the Arkansas Territory. They joined the Austin colony and came to Texas in 1822, staying one year before returning to Arkansas. The Barrons settled permanently in Texas in 1830 and are listed in Stephen F. Austin's 1831 Registry of Families. The home the Barrons built in Independence was later purchased by Sam Houston. Thomas and Elizabeth Barron joined the Sterling C. Robertson colony in the mid-1830s. Barron was the Ranger captain in charge of establishing Fort Fisher on the Brazos River in 1837. Elizabeth died after giving birth to twelve children. Thomas married Mary Jane Shelton in 1846 at Falls-on-the-Brazos. They became the parents of ten children and were among the earliest settlers in the area that became Waco. Barron was clerk of the first McLennan County Court in 1850 and of the first District Court in 1851. He built Waco's first steam mill in the 1850s. A street, school and creek in Waco were named for Barron, who served as McLennan County Tax Assessor in the 1860s after moving to Falls County. Barron died at Masterville (later Bruceville). He was interred at the Tom Cox Cemetery in that area. His grave was moved to this site in 1976. (1999)