William Jarvis Cannan

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to do it justice. William Jarvis Cannan. Born December 23, 1808, in Edgefield, South Carolina.

And if you think that's a long way from the Texas coastal plains, well, you're right. But by 1835, he had made the journey. Texas was calling, and William Jarvis Cannan was the kind of man who answered.

He entered the army, and not just any army. This was the army of the Republic of Texas, fighting for independence. And on April 21, 1836, he was there.

San Jacinto. That famed victory. The kind of day that gets carved into stone and spoken about in hushed tones for generations.

Cannan stood in that fight. He was part of it. Let that sit a moment.

Now, the Republic didn't forget its soldiers. William Jarvis Cannan received headright and bounty lands, and not just in one county. Brazoria, San Patricio, Coleman, and Limestone.

Four counties worth of Texas earth granted to a man who helped win it. He put down roots deep in this soil. He married Martha Jane Lonis, and together they built a life and a family until Martha Jane passed in 1851.

After that, he married Mrs. Permelia Rowena Wilcox. Between his two marriages, William Jarvis Cannan had eleven children.

Eleven. A man who fought at San Jacinto and then filled the republic he helped create with a family big enough to populate a small settlement. He lived until September 24, 1881.

A soldier. A landholder. A father eleven times over.

Born in South Carolina, buried in Texas history.

What the marker says

(December 23, 1808 - September 24, 1881) A Republic of Texas soldier during War for Independence. Born in Edgefield, S. C.; came to Texas in 1835. Entering army, he fought in famed victory of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. He received headright and bounty lands in Brazoria, San Patricio, Coleman, and Limestone counties. He had 11 children by his two marriages: first, to Martha Jane Lonis (who died in 1851), then to Mrs. Permelia Rowena Wilcox. Recorded - 1970