Archelaus Bynum Dodson
Alice, Jim Wells County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(December 31, 1807-March 10, 1898) Texas patriot famed as man who introduced the Lone Star flag during the Texas Revolution. Born in North Carolina, Dodson came to Texas with his parents in 1827. He served as a delegate to the 1832 Convention seeking governmental reforms. On May 17, 1835, he married Sarah Rudolph Bradley. Later in the year 1835, Dodson was first lieutenant in Texas defense unit under Capt. Andrew Robinson. To Robinson's company his bride presented her handiwork-- a red, white and blue flag of Texas. This banner flew at Washington-on the-Brazos when Declaration of Independence was signed March 2, 1836. Dodson continued to fight in the Texas Revolution until after victory at San Jacinto. He located his headright of land in Grimes County, moving family there in 1844. Mrs. Sarah Bradley Dodson, flag maker and mother of six children, died in 1848. Her grave is in Bethel Cemetery, near Bedias, Grimes County. Dodson in 1850 married Louisa McWhorter, a widow. In 1860 he moved his family west to another Texas frontier, on the Nueces River. In this vicinity he lived to a respected old age. At death he was buried in Collins Cemetery, a half-mile south of here. (1969)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Archelaus Bynum Dodson came to Texas from North Carolina in 1827 and threw himself into the independence movement, serving as a convention delegate in 1832 and as a lieutenant in 1835. His young wife, Sarah, sewed a red, white, and blue banner for his company — a flag remembered as an early Lone Star of Texas, said to have flown over Washington-on-the-Brazos when the Declaration of Independence was signed in March 1836. Dodson fought on through victory at San Jacinto, then spent his long life moving ever westward with the Texas frontier.
Why it matters
The story of the Dodson flag ties an ordinary settler couple to the birth of the Texas Republic, a reminder that the symbols of nationhood were often handmade by the people who fought for it.
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Related people
- · Archelaus Bynum Dodson
- · Sarah Rudolph Bradley Dodson
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
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