DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and friend, this one earns every word. The Tumlinson family. Colorado County, Texas.
Settle in. John Tumlinson was born in 1776, his wife Elizabeth Plemmons in 1778, both of them out of Lincoln County, North Carolina. They were movers, these two — Tennessee, then Illinois, then Arkansas — before they pointed themselves toward Texas with their seven children in tow, joining Stephen F.
Austin's Old Three Hundred Colony. That was the original outfit, the founders, the ones who came before Texas was Texas as we know it. The Tumlinsons settled on the Colorado River, and they weren't just passing through.
Austin's colonists got divided into two districts. The settlers of the Colorado District looked around at the men they had, and they elected John Tumlinson their first alcalde. Now an alcalde was the chief executive in a Spanish municipality — administering justice, organizing the settlers, keeping some kind of order out on the edge of everything.
That's no small job when your town is mostly river, sky, and uncertainty. Here's where the story shifts. In May of 1823, the first official Texas Ranger company was organized — organized specifically to protect settlers from Indian attacks.
John Tumlinson was right there at the center of it all, the man the community trusted, the man building a militia. And then, just two months later, in July of that same year, John Tumlinson was killed in an attack by Waco Indians while he was en route to San Antonio to buy gunpowder for his militia. The man who helped stand up the Rangers didn't live to see what they'd become.
He left behind Elizabeth, and Elizabeth did not fold. In August of 1824, she was granted a league of land — a desirable location, right in the center of the Colorado District. She and her children stayed.
They put down roots so deep that the ground remembers them still. The children grew. John J.
Tumlinson, Jr., became a Texas Ranger captain in 1832 — the first of many of his descendants to wear that badge. His brother Peter joined the Rangers in 1835. And it didn't stop there.
Fourteen other men related to John and Elizabeth Tumlinson by blood or marriage served in the Texas Rangers between 1859 and 1921. Several more Tumlinsons became frontier lawmen besides. And that league of land Elizabeth held?
The town that grew up around it became known as Columbus in 1835. One family. Old Three Hundred colonists, farmers, an alcalde, landowners, rangers, and lawmen — from the first days of organized law in Austin's Colony all the way through generations of service.
The marker says their legacy continues to be felt throughout the region. Standing here in Colorado County, that's not hard to believe.
What the marker says
John (1776-1823) and Elizabeth Plemmons (1778-1829) Tumlinson were born in Lincoln County, North Carolina and lived in Tennessee, Illinois and Arkansas before coming to Texas with their seven children as members of Austin's Old Three Hundred Colony. The Tumlinson family settled on the Colorado River. Austin's colonists were divided into two districts; the settlers of the Colorado District elected John Tumlinson their first alcalde, the chief executive in a Spanish municipality. Among his duties were administering justice and organizing a militia among the colonists. In May 1823 the first official Texas Ranger company was organized to protect settlers from Indian attacks. John Tumlinson was killed in such an attack by Waco Indians in July of that year while en route to San Antonio to buy gunpowder for his militia. Elizabeth Tumlinson was granted a league of land in a desirable location in the center of the Colorado District in August 1824. She and her children remained in Austin's Colony. John J. Tumlinson, Jr., became a Texas Ranger captain in 1832 and was the first of many of his descendants to serve the Rangers. His brother Peter joined the Rangers in 1835. Fourteen other men who were related to John and Elizabeth Tumlinson by blood or marriage served in the Texas Rangers between 1859 and 1921, and several other Tumlinsons were frontier lawmen. The town that grew up around the Elizabeth Tumlinson League became known as Columbus in 1835. The legacy of the Tumlinson family, Old Three Hundred colonists, farmers, alcaldes, landowners, rangers and lawmen, continues to be felt throughout the region. (1999)