HistoricSiteMarkers
Early RepublicCivil War

Dr. Welborn and Louisa Adeline Barton

Salado, Bell County, Texas

Marker Inscription

A graduate of the medical department of Kentucky's Transylvania University, South Carolina native Dr. Welborn Barton (1821-1883) came to Texas in the late 1840s. After two years of practicing medicine in Bastrop County, he returned to South Carolina to wed Louisa Adeline Cox (1835-1920). They came with other South Carolinians to Burnet County in 1854 and moved to Salado in 1865 after he served in the Confederate army. He was a doctor, a trustee of Salado College and a Mason. Louisa served as his nurse and was involved in the Amasavourian Literary Society. The parents of ten children, the Bartons were also active in the First Baptist Church. (2003)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Trained at Kentucky's Transylvania University, South Carolina native Dr. Welborn Barton came to Texas in the late 1840s, then returned home to marry Louisa Adeline Cox before bringing fellow South Carolinians to the central Texas frontier in 1854. He practiced medicine, helped found Salado College, and served in the Confederate army before settling his family in Salado in 1865. Louisa worked as his nurse and raised their ten children, active alongside him in church and civic life.

Why it matters

The Bartons reflect the westward migration of educated Southern families who brought medicine, schooling, and church life to the Texas frontier in the years around the Civil War.

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Related people

  • · Welborn Barton
  • · Louisa Adeline Cox Barton

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionWomen's HistoryFrontier HistoryLandmark

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