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Early RepublicReconstruction & Gilded Age

Armisted Thompson Mason Monroe

Crockett, Houston County, Texas

Marker Inscription

(March 15, 1818 -- September, 1893) A grandnephew of U.S. president James Monroe, A.T.M. Monroe was born in Virginia and came to Texas in 1842. He married Rachel Albright (1828-1866) in 1846 and moved his family to Crockett in 1849. He operated a general store on the courthouse square with W.F. Wall and made annual trips to New York for merchandise. Also involved in real estate dealings, Monroe gave land for the Episcopal Church.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

A grandnephew of President James Monroe, Armisted Thompson Mason Monroe was born in Virginia in 1818 and came to Texas in 1842, settling his family in Crockett by 1849. He ran a general store on the courthouse square, making yearly buying trips to New York, dealt in real estate, and donated land for the local Episcopal Church. His life traces the path of the ambitious eastern settlers who built the commercial life of early Texas towns.

Why it matters

Merchant-settlers like Monroe knit frontier Texas into the national economy, and their civic gifts—churches, land, storefronts—laid the foundations of enduring communities.

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Related people

  • · Armisted Thompson Mason Monroe
  • · James Monroe
  • · Rachel Albright
  • · W. F. Wall

Themes & tags

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