DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. James Truitt was born October 23, 1795, and his wife Sarah Hall Truitt on July 29, 1796, and together they made the kind of decision that shaped a state — leaving North Carolina behind in 1838, bound for Texas. They settled near this very site in 1840, and what happened next is the kind of story you couldn't invent if you tried.
James went on to serve as a congressman in the Republic of Texas, 1843 to 1845. Then a representative from 1846 to 1848. Then not one, not two, not three, but four terms as a senator in the Texas State Legislature.
The man had a talent for public life. But the Truitts weren't just building a political legacy — they were raising ten children. Five sons, five daughters.
And here's where you sit up a little straighter. Two of those sons fought in the Regulator-Moderator War. Three served in the Mexican War.
Five fought in the Civil War. Ten children, and the boys between them walked into nearly every major conflict Texas and the nation had to offer in that era. Their descendants, the marker tells us, continue to be prominent in Texas history to this day.
And this cemetery — this quiet piece of Shelby County ground — holds several generations of that family. It was founded at the death of Sarah Hall Truitt, who passed on July 3, 1848. James lived on until June 11, 1870.
The land remembers them both.
What the marker says
James Truitt (Oct. 23, 1795 - June 11, 1870) and his wife Sarah Hall Truitt (July 29, 1796 - July 3, 1848) left North Carolina for Texas in 1838, settling near this site in 1840. Truitt was a congressman in the Republic of Texas, 1843-45; a representative, 1846-48, and four terms a senator in Texas State Legislature. The Truitts had five sons and five daughters. Two sons fought in Regulator-Moderator War, three in Mexican War, five in Civil War. Descendants continue to be prominent in texas history. Several generations rest in this cemetery which was founded at the death of Sarah Hall Truitt.