To Josephus Hornsby
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
To Josephus Hornsby Mar. 15, 1822 Oct. 21, 1862 Son of Reuben Hornsby; settled here, 1832; Bastrop Ranger, 1837 In Flores Fight, 1839 Battle of Plum Creek, 1840 Brush Fight, 1840; Vasquez and Woll Campaigns, 1842; led fight against Indians from whom he rescued William Bell and Alexander Coleman in Austin, 1842 His wife Eliza Ann Lane Feb. 14, 1830 Sept. 6, 1892 Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Josephus Hornsby, son of pioneer Reuben Hornsby, grew up on the exposed Colorado River frontier east of Austin, settling in 1832. As a young Ranger he fought in the Indian and Mexican clashes of the Republic era — the Flores and Brush fights, Plum Creek in 1840, and the Vasquez and Woll campaigns — and in 1842 rescued two captives from an Indian raid in Austin.
Why it matters
His short life captures the relentless frontier warfare that Anglo settlers and Native peoples waged over central Texas in the republic's early years.
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Related people
- · Josephus Hornsby
- · Reuben Hornsby
- · Eliza Ann Lane
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Fort Colorado Historical Marker
Austin, TX
In the first anxious years of the Republic of Texas, the young nation strung frontier posts along its edge to guard settlers from raids. This site marks Fort Colorado — also known as Coleman's Fort — a short-lived station of the late 1830s garrisoned by early ranging companies on the Colorado River near present-day Austin. It stood only about two years before being abandoned as the line of settlement shifted.
To John Williams and Howell Haggett
Austin, TX
This marker remembers rangers killed in the dangerous early years of the Republic. John Williams and Howell Haggett died in a May 1836 encounter with Indians while detailed from Captain John J. Tumlinson's company to protect the Hornsby settlement's families returning from the panicked flight known as the "Runaway Scrape." Pioneer ranger William Atkinson fell in a similar clash in 1845. The State of Texas placed the monument in 1936.
Site of the Home of Reuben Hornsby
Austin, TX
Reuben Hornsby and his wife Sarah built this home in 1832, the first in what is now Travis County and part of Stephen F. Austin's colonizing effort on the Texas frontier. Renowned for their hospitality, the Hornsbys nursed Josiah Wilbarger here after he was scalped and left for dead in 1833. Hornsby and his sons rode as Rangers and Indian fighters, and Captain John J. Tumlinson's company was organized on this very ground in 1836.
Site of Fort Colorado
Austin, TX
Established in June 1836 and first commanded by Colonel Robert M. Coleman, this stockade — also called Coleman's Fort — was one of the young Republic of Texas's farthest frontier outposts. Manned by Texas Rangers under Coleman and later captains Michael Andrews and William Eastland, it guarded settlers along a contested edge of settlement until it was abandoned in November 1838. The State of Texas marked the site in 1936, the republic's centennial year.