DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Born on September 21, 1793, in Georgetown, South Carolina, Levi Charles Myers Harby came into this world the son of Solomon Harby and Rebecca Moses Harby — and if that name meant anything at all, he was going to have to earn it the hard way. He didn't wait long to start.
During the War of 1812, young Levi signed on with the United States Navy, commissioned as a midshipman and stationed at Charleston. Now, a midshipman in wartime is not exactly sittin' on the porch, and sure enough, Levi found himself in the thick of it. After the capture of the British ship Providence — and that's a fine name for a ship, if you think about it — Levi was among the officers placed aboard her as a prize crew.
Sailing a captured enemy vessel through contested waters. Everything going according to plan. Right up until it wasn't.
The Providence was recaptured. And Levi Charles Myers Harby spent the next two years as a prisoner of war in England. Two years.
He was not yet out of his twenties. Most men would've called it a life and gone home to South Carolina. Not Levi.
He kept moving. By January of 1836, Revenue Cutter Service records show him departing service aboard the cutter Dallas, with a notation that may be the most Texas sentence ever written into official government paperwork: he had, quote, Gone to Texas. Just like that.
Two words. Gone to Texas. Some sources place him in New Orleans around that same early 1836 period, affiliated with the vessel Brutus, sailing her down to Texas.
The records don't all agree on the details, but they agree on the direction: south and west, toward whatever Texas was becoming. In 1842, at the age of 48, Levi married Leonora Delyon in Camden County, Georgia, and together they had three children — Henry J., Rebecca Sarah, and Jacob De La Motte. The family made their home in Galveston, and that's where things get interesting on more than one front.
Leonora was no ordinary presence in that city. She became a well-known Jewish scholar, established the first Jewish Sunday school in Texas, and founded the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society of Galveston. While Leonora was building something that would outlast them both, Levi was making a different kind of decision.
He resigned his commission with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and offered his services to the government of the Confederate States as a heavy artillery captain during the Civil War. He served aboard the CSS Neptune during the Battle of Galveston.
By the end of the war, he held command of Galveston Harbor itself. In 1865, Levi was given a Parole of Honor. He stayed in Galveston.
Lived there until December 3, 1870, when he died at the age of seventy-seven. He is buried with Leonora in the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery in Galveston County — the same society she had helped found. A man who crossed an ocean as a prisoner, crossed the Gulf toward a revolution, and in the end, didn't go anywhere at all.
He was already home.
What the marker says
(September 21, 1793 - December 3, 1870) Born in Georgetown, South Carolina, Levi Charles Myers Harby was the son of Solomon Harby and Rebecca Moses Harby. During the War of 1812, Levi served in the US Navy. He was commissioned as a midshipman and stationed at Charleston. After the capture of the British ship Providence, he was one of the officers placed on the prized ship. The Providence was recaptured and Levi was a prisoner of war in England for two years. In January 1836, Revenue Cutter Service records indicate that Levi left his service aboard the cutter Dallas and had “Gone to Texas”. Some sources claim that he was affiliated with the Brutus in New Orleans and sailed her to Texas in early 1836. In 1842, at the age of 48 in Camden County, Georgia, Levi married Leonora Delyon and had three children: Henry J., Rebecca Sarah and Jacob De La Motte. His family moved with him to Galveston where Leonora became a well-known Jewish scholar, established the first Jewish Sunday school in Texas and founded the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society of Galveston. While living in Galveston, Levi resigned commission with the U.S. Cutter Revenue Service and offered his services to the government of the Confederate States as a heavy artillery captain during the Civil War. He served aboard the CSS Neptune during the Battle of Galveston. At the end of the war, he was in command of the Galveston Harbor. In 1865, Levi was given a Parole of Honor. He resided in Galveston until his death. Levi is buried with his wife in the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery in Galveston County. (2014)