DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and I'll do my best to honor it. Now, most folks who drive through Kerr County today see the cedar hills and the clear-running creeks and think: peaceful. And mostly, they're right.
But there's a chapter in this county's story that sits heavy, and it deserves to be told straight. In 1878, Susan and James Dowdy packed up their pioneer family and made the move from Goliad to Kerr County. Susan, born in 1830, and James, born in 1818, were the kind of people who went toward the hard country rather than away from it.
They settled on Johnson Creek, ready to build something. They'd barely had time to get their footing. Shortly after the family arrived, four of their children — Alice, Martha, Susan, and James — were out tending sheep near the homestead.
October 5th, 1878. A site about three and a half miles northwest of what is now Ingram. That's when the attack came.
All four children were killed by Indians. The following day, they were buried at Sunset Cemetery, northwest of Ingram. The marker notes this incident as one of the last Indian raids in Kerr County.
One of the last. Susan Dowdy lived until 1913. James until 1900.
They carried that October day with them for the rest of their lives. Some stories don't need embellishment. This is one of them.
What the marker says
The pioneer family of Susan (1830-1913) and James Dowdy (1818-1900) moved from Goliad to Kerr County in 1878 and settled on Johnson Creek. Shortly after the family arrived, four of the Dowdy children, Alice, Martha, Susan, and James, were killed by Indians while tending sheep near their home. The attack occurred on Oct. 5, 1878, at a site about 3.5 miles northwest of present Ingram. The victims were buried the following day at Sunset Cemetery, northwest of Ingram. This incident was one of the last Indian raids in Kerr County. (1979)