DUANE
Duane's take
This one comes straight off the official marker for William Ware, and friend, it's a life that covered more ground than most men dare to dream about. Born in 1800 — to Joseph and Elizabeth Ware, out of Kentucky, though some sources will tell you Georgia, and the marker's honest enough to say so — William Ware came into the world without any fuss. The fuss would come later.
By 1828, he and his wife Ann Murphy and their three children had picked up and moved to Montgomery County, Texas. That right there tells you something about the man. Texas in 1828 was not a comfortable proposition.
It was a proposition for people with nerve. William Ware had nerve to spare. Come 1835, he raised a military company — raised it himself — and fought at the Siege of Bexar.
Then 1836 rolls around, and he's already back at it, raising the Second Company of the Second Regiment, Texas Volunteers, and fighting with the Texas army at San Jacinto. That same year, now widowed, he married Betsy Crane. Two wars and a wedding in about as many years.
That is a full calendar. But life kept dealin' cards. In 1849, Ware set out again, moving toward Kaufman County, and somewhere along the way — en route to Sabinal Canyon — Betsy died.
He pressed on anyway, the way men like him seemed compelled to do. He and his son, John Crane Ware, arrived in 1852. And here — right here in this canyon — they built a cabin.
That cabin became the cornerstone for the settlement of Waresville. William Ware died in 1853 and was buried in the Waresville cemetery. He'd been born in 1800, fought two campaigns, buried two wives, crossed half a continent, and built something that outlasted him.
The marker's standing proof of that.
What the marker says
William Ware Capt. William Ware was born in 1800 to Joseph and Elizabeth Ware in Kentucky (Georgia in some sources). In 1828, he and his wife, Ann Murphy, and their three children moved to Montgomery County, Texas. From there, Ware raised a military company in 1835 and fought at the Siege of Bexar. In 1836, he raised the Second Company of the Second Regiment, Texas Volunteers, and fought with the Texas army at San Jacinto. That same year, the widowed Ware married Betsy Crane. While moving to Kaufman County in 1849, Betsy died en route to Sabinal Canyon. Ware and his son, John Crane Ware, arrived in 1852. Here they built a cabin, which became the cornerstone for the settlement of Waresville. Ware died in 1853 and was buried in the Waresville cemetery. (2003)