William Whitaker Reed

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one carrying the tale down the road. William Whitaker Reed. Born January 23, 1816, in Tennessee.

And if you think that's a fine place to start a life, well — Texas had other plans for him. In 1833, William came west with his parents, Michael and Martha Reed, and by 1834 the family had joined Robertson's colony, setting down roots on the south bank of the Little River, right near the family land. Now that sounds peaceful enough, doesn't it?

The kind of start you'd want. But this was Texas in the 1830s, and peaceful had a short shelf life. When the Texas Revolution came roaring through, the Reed family found themselves caught up in what folks called the Runaway Scrape — that desperate, chaotic flight ahead of Santa Anna's army.

The family survived it. And when the smoke began to clear, William and his brother Jefferson Reed didn't go home to rest. They joined the Republic of Texas Army.

What William Reed encountered in that service is the kind of thing that doesn't leave a man. He was among those who buried the remains of Colonel James W. Fannin's men at Goliad.

Let that settle a moment. Those were the men massacred under Santa Anna's orders, and someone had to see them properly into the ground. William Reed was one of those men.

After the war, he came back to his homestead on the Little River — back to the land, back to the life he'd set out to build. He married Emeline Cobb, born 1825, and together they raised ten children. That's a house with some noise in it.

Then came 1850, and Bell County needed organizing. Reed showed up for that too — participating in the election of a commissioners court to get the county on its feet. The voters turned around and made him the first county sheriff of Bell County.

He served two terms. William W. Reed died on August 21, 1891, and was buried right there on his land — the same ground he'd come to in 1833, survived revolution for, and spent a lifetime building.

Some men pass through history. William Reed had the good sense to stay put and become part of it.

What the marker says

(January 23, 1816 - August 21, 1891) A native of Tennessee, William W. Reed came to Texas with his parents, Michael and Martha Reed, in 1833 and joined Robertson's colony in 1834. His land grant was situated near his parents' land on the south bank of the Little River. The family survived "The Runaway Scrape" during the Texas Revolution, after which William W. Reed and his brother, Jefferson Reed, joined the Republic of Texas Army. William Reed was among those who buried the remains of Colonel James W. Fannin's men at Goliad. After the war he returned to his homestead and married Emeline Cobb (1825-1890); they had ten children. In 1850 Reed participated in the election of a commissioners court to organize Bell County. He was elected the first county sheriff and served two terms. Reed died in 1891 and was buried on his land. (2000)