The Fitzgerald and Fenn Families
Arcola, Fort Bend County, Texas
Marker Inscription
David Fitzgerald, a veteran of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, came to Texas from Georgia in 1821.His son-in-law, Eli Fenn, followed in 1832. Fenn served during the Texas Revolution and signed the 1837 petition for the creation of Fort Bend County. An expert in natural remedies, his wife Sarah aided sick residents. One of their sons, John R. Fenn, was a war veteran, Duke's first Postmaster and a businessman. His wife, Rebecca (Williams), was a charter member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. F.M.O. Fenn, John and Rebecca's eldest child, served as County Attorney and later as Justice of the Peace. In 1893, the Sons of the Republic of Texas organized in his office in Richmond. Sarah, John R. and Rebecca Fenn are buried in the Duke Cemetery. (2008)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
David Fitzgerald, who had fought in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812, came to Mexican Texas from Georgia in 1821 among its earliest Anglo settlers. His son-in-law Eli Fenn followed in 1832, served in the Texas Revolution, and helped petition for the creation of Fort Bend County. Across the generations the Fitzgerald and Fenn families produced postmasters, businessmen, county officials, and charter members of Texas heritage societies, many of them resting today in the Duke Cemetery.
Why it matters
The family's span from Revolutionary War service to the founding institutions of a Texas county embodies how the young republic and its counties were built by settlers carrying the memory of the American founding westward.
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Related people
- · David Fitzgerald
- · Eli Fenn
- · Sarah Fenn
- · John R. Fenn
- · Rebecca Fenn
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Duke Community
Arcola, TX
The Duke Community grew from land granted in 1824 to three of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists—David Fitzgerald, who fought at Anahuac, Thomas Barnett, who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and Moses Shipman. Perched on a high bluff above Clear Lake with ample water for steam engines, the site drew railroads by mid-century and became the terminus of the Sugar Land Railway, loading sugarcane at a bustling depot named for storekeeper Duke Hessey. With its store, hotel, and sugar mills, Duke thrived until its post office closed in 1922; today only its cemetery remains.
Daniel Perry
Arcola, TX
Born in Mississippi in 1791, Daniel Perry brought his family to Texas in 1832 and settled on land along the Brazos as Anglo colonization spread through Stephen F. Austin's grants. He served as a captain and recruiter in the Texas Army, fought at San Jacinto in 1836, and then joined the Republic of Texas Navy before signing the 1837 petition that created Fort Bend County. A rancher and farmer who ran cattle under the "7P" brand, he died in 1869 and was buried at Duke Cemetery.
Sandy Point Cemetery
Sandy Point, TX
Sandy Point Cemetery was established around 1850 in Brazoria County, one of the cradles of Anglo colonization in Texas. Its earliest graves date to the years when the coastal prairie was being settled by pioneer families. The site was designated a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2003.
Stafford Plantation
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Tennessean William Joseph Stafford brought his family here in 1822 as members of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300," the first Anglo colonists in Mexican Texas, and built a plantation with a sugar mill and cotton gin known as Stafford's Point. Its high-molasses sugar prospered even in lean cotton years, until Mexican troops burned the buildings during the Texas Revolution. The family rebuilt, and the settlement that grew around the plantation survives today as the city of Stafford; this site is believed to be its early cemetery.