James Rowe
Old Center, Panola County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(March 17, 1811 - Dec. 3, 1868) Texas War for Independence soldier (1836) James Rowe had migrated from North Carolina. Prospering as a tanner, he was commissioned to help organize Panola County (1846); served as senior warden of Sam Sanford Lodge No. 149, A. F. & A. M. (1851); served in 4th Texas Legislature (1851-53); and gave the land now occupied by this cemetery. He and his wife Mira (Tippett) had eleven children. Descendants include citizens in many walks of life. (1977)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
James Rowe came to the Mexican frontier of Texas from North Carolina and took up arms in the 1836 revolution that won Texas its independence. A prosperous tanner, he helped organize newly created Panola County in 1846, served a term in the young state's legislature, and donated the ground where this cemetery now stands. His story is a compact portrait of the settler-soldiers who turned a contested borderland into an American state.
Why it matters
Markers like this preserve the memory of the ordinary settlers whose military service and civic labor built Texas from revolution to statehood.
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Related people
- · James Rowe
- · Mira Tippett Rowe
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · Organization of Panola County
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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