John Thomas Stark
Orange, Orange County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Patriarch of the Orange County Stark family, John T. Stark was born in Pebble County, Ohio, in 1821 and moved to East Texas in 1840. He settled in Newton County in the 1850s where he read law and ran a mercantile store. In 1861 Stark joined the Confederate forces as a private in the Texas infantry and was later elected captain. In 1874 he moved to Orange where he practiced law, served one year as Orange County judge, and was active in the old Orange First Baptist Church. Stark's three marriages produced eighteen children. He died in 1893 and is buried in this cemetery.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Ohio in 1821, John T. Stark came to East Texas in 1840 and settled in Newton County, where he read law and kept a mercantile store. He enlisted as a private in the Texas infantry for the Confederacy in 1861 and rose to captain, and after the war moved to Orange to practice law and serve a term as county judge. His three marriages produced eighteen children before his death in 1893.
Why it matters
Stark's life follows the arc of a frontier settler who put down roots, served the Confederacy, and helped found one of East Texas's leading families.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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