John Paney Bertrand
Purmela, Coryell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John Raney Bertrand was born in Brazoria County, the son of French immigrants who came to Texas before the Texas Revolution. He was a partner in a mercantile business in Washington County for several years before leaving to join the Confederate Army in the Civil War. In 1869 he married Mary Frances Cayce, and moved to Coryell County in 1875, settling on 312 acres. He built a log cabin for his family of eight children, raised livestock and farmed the land.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The son of French immigrants who reached Texas before the Revolution, John Bertrand grew up in Brazoria County and ran a mercantile business in Washington County before leaving to serve in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War he married, moved to Coryell County in 1875, and settled 312 acres, raising eight children in a log cabin while he farmed and ran livestock. His story mirrors the westward push of many Texans rebuilding their lives on the land after the war.
Why it matters
It shows how immigrant-descended Texans carried the state's settlement frontier forward in the years after the Civil War.
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Related people
- · John Raney Bertrand
- · Mary Frances Cayce
Themes & tags
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