DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about William Carroll Sypert, right out of Milam County. Now, some men live a life that looks like a straight line from birth to grave. William Carroll Sypert was not that kind of man.
He came into this world on November 15, 1815, in Tennessee. And for a good while, Tennessee had its hold on him. But when the Republic of Texas called for soldiers in 1836, William Sypert, twenty years old, answered.
He entered the army of the Republic of Texas and went off to do what needed doing. Then he went back to Tennessee. See, Texas had his attention, but Tennessee still had his heart.
In 1838 he married a woman named Permelia Benjamine Perry, born in 1819, and she would prove to be the kind of partner a man needs when the road ahead is long and rutted and covered in red dust. Now, here is where the story gets a little stubborn. They made the trip between Tennessee and Texas by covered wagon.
Not once. Twice. Two round trips, back and forth across that long hard country, weighing their options, testing their nerve.
And after all that, in 1849, William and Permelia settled permanently in Texas. For good. Done deliberating.
The man was a schoolteacher. He was a musician. He served as justice of the peace in Bell County.
In 1859 he was postmaster at Bryant's Station. And from 1867 to 1870 he served as Milam County Judge. William Carroll Sypert left this life on July 18, 1885.
Permelia, born 1819, lived on until 1894. Two covered wagon trips across the American frontier to make up his mind. When William Sypert finally put down roots in Texas, you get the feeling he meant it.
What the marker says
(Nov. 15, 1815 - July 18, 1885) A native of Tennessee, William C. Sypert entered the army of the Republic of Texas in 1836 at the age of 20. He returned to Tennessee and married Permelia Benjamine Perry (1819-94) in 1838. After two trips via covered wagon between Tennessee and Texas, they settled permanently in Texas in 1849. A schoolteacher and musician, Sypert served as justice of the peace in Bell County, as postmaster at Bryant's Station in 1859, and as Milam County Judge, 1867-70.