Roden Taylor Crain
Valley Mills, Bosque County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(April 29, 1819-July 20, 1891) Tennessee native Roden Taylor Crain, a member of Capt. William Kimbro's Company of San Augustine County volunteers, was a soldier in the struggle for Texas Independence from Mexico. He fought at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, and later received a land grant and pension for his service. He settled on his land in present Bosque County, where he lived the rest of his life. He drowned in the Bosque River and was buried here in 1891. Recorded - 1987
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Roden Taylor Crain left Tennessee to join the fight for Texas independence, serving in a San Augustine County volunteer company at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836. Like many veterans of that struggle, he was rewarded with a land grant and pension, and he built his life on that frontier acreage in what became Bosque County until his drowning in the Bosque River in 1891.
Why it matters
His life traces the arc of the ordinary soldier-settler whose service at San Jacinto helped birth the Republic of Texas and who then turned a veteran's land grant into a homestead on the frontier.
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Related people
- ยท Roden Taylor Crain
- ยท William Kimbro
Related events
- ยท Battle of San Jacinto
- ยท Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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