Charles Standfield Taylor
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Land Commissioner of Texas, 1833 A signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836 Chief Justice of Nacogdoches County, 1837 District Attorney, 1839 Rio Grande Land Commissioner, 1854 Born in London, England, 1808 Died November 1, 1865. His wife ANNA MARIA RUOFF TAYLOR Born in Germany, March 1, 1814 Died February 8, 1873. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in London and later joined by his German-born wife Anna Maria Ruoff, Charles Standfield Taylor became a public servant of the Republic and State of Texas over three decades. He served as a land commissioner in 1833, signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836, and went on to be chief justice of Nacogdoches County and a district attorney. His career shows how European immigrants helped build the institutions of frontier Texas.
Why it matters
An English-born signer of Texas independence, Taylor embodies the immigrant hand in founding the Republic and the westward push of Anglo-American settlement.
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Related people
- · Charles Standfield Taylor
- · Anna Maria Ruoff Taylor
Related events
- · Texas Declaration of Independence
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Helpenstell Cemetery
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Helpenstell Cemetery began in 1861 when Wilhelm Helpenstell buried his infant son in a field behind his home and set the spot aside for burials. He and his sister had left Prussia in 1850, arriving in Nacogdoches County with fellow German immigrants to build a settlement between the communities of Union Springs and Lone Pine. The graves here span veterans from the Civil War through Vietnam, a record of one immigrant community's long American service.
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