William Blewett

Duane's take

The way this marker tells it, here's the story of William Blewett, and I'm passing it along just as the inscription reads. Now, Georgia sent a lot of good people to Texas over the years, and William Blewett was one of them. Born in 1830, he came west with his family in 1849, and Texas was ready to put him to work.

They settled first in Jasper County, where William took on the role of district surveyor around 1853. A man who measures land for a living knows how to read country, and William Blewett was clearly reading it well. He also found time for family matters.

He married his cousin Nancy Adams, and the two of them would go on to become the parents of six children. That's a houseful by any count. By 1858, William had his eye on the next thing.

He and his cousin Adam Adams moved their ambitions to Newton and opened the Blewett and Company Mercantile near this very site. A mercantile in a growing Texas town was the beating heart of the community. Folks came for supplies, for news, for conversation.

William Blewett was right in the middle of all of it. Then the Civil War broke out, and everything changed. William stepped forward as a leader in organizing a company of local volunteers.

That company became part of Company G, Thirteenth Texas Cavalry. He served as a captain. He died in Arkansas in 1862.

Born in 1830, gone by 1862. A surveyor, a merchant, a father of six, a captain of cavalry. The marker was donated by Blewett descendants, which tells you something right there.

The name carried on, even when the man could not.

What the marker says

(1830-1862) Georgia native William Blewett came to Texas with his family in 1849. They settled first in Jasper County, where he was district surveyor about 1853. He married a cousin, Nancy Adams; they later became the parents of 6 children. In 1858 they moved to Newton and William opened the Blewett & Company Mercantile near this site with his cousin Adam Adams. When the Civil War broke out, Blewett was a leader in organizing a company of local volunteers that became part of Company G, 13th Texas Cavalry. He served as a captain and died in Arkansas in 1862. (1997) Incise on base: Donated by Blewett Descendants