DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. William Daniel Durham — born in England, in 1814. Now, you might think that's an odd place to start a Texas story, and friend, you'd be right.
But this particular Englishman found his way to a young and restless land, and what he did when he got here is worth every mile of this road you're drivin'. By December of 1835, Durham was right in the thick of it — the capture of Bexar, December fifth through the tenth. Five days of fighting for a city, and Durham was there for all of it.
Think about that. A man born across an ocean, standing in the dust and smoke of Bexar, deciding what Texas was going to be. Then came San Jacinto.
Durham served under Captain William J. E. Heard's company — one more fight, one more line held.
And when the smoke cleared and Texas stood on its own, Durham was still standing too, now carrying the rank of second lieutenant in the Milam Guards. He'd earned that. He'd more than earned that.
But Texas was young, and young things are fragile, and so are men. William Daniel Durham died at Houston on August 26th, 1838. He never got old in this land he helped win.
The marker doesn't editorialize about that. It doesn't have to. The dates say everything — 1814 to 1838, England to Houston, with Bexar and San Jacinto in between.
That's the whole story, and it's enough of one.
What the marker says
Born in England in 1814. Participated in the capture of bexar, December 5th to 10th, 1835. Served in Captain william J. E. Heard's company at San Jacinto and was second lieutenant in the Milam Guards when he died at Houston, August 26, 1838.