The tombstone for James C. Allan, a prominent citizen of the Republic of Texas who assisted settlers fleeing the Mexican Army during the "Runaway Scrape" before Sam Houston's victory at San Jacinto; the oldest existing tombstone in Indianola's Old Town Cemetery.
The text of the Historic marker at Old Town Cemetery:
"OLD TOWN CEMETERY
Located on the elevated ridge at Indianola Beach, the cemetery is one of three that served the Port of Indianola during the 19th century. The oldest existing grave marker, that of James Chilton Allan, bears a date of 1851. Also buried here are some of Calhoun County’s earliest settlers, who came in the first wave of German immigration to Texas in the 1840s. Many of the original tombstones, including that of Angelina Eberly (d.1860), heroine of the Texas Archives War, have disappeared over time because of storms and vandalism.
Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
below:
Historic Texas Cemetery
[medallion]"
Folks who are familiar with the history of Indianola know that it was founded on Matagorda Bay in the 1830s to serve as the second deep-water port serving the Republic of Texas (Galveston was the first). Unfortunately for those in Indianola, the first seat of Calhoun County, the city was completely destroyed twice by hurricanes: first in 1875 (when Indianola rebuilt), at again in 1885 (when Indianola was abandoned).
When the citizens of Indianola walked away after the 1885 hurricane, they left their dead behind in several cemeteries, which is all that remains of Indianola today.
Indianola Cemetery, which contains the grave of James C Allan (1810 -1851), is located less than 20 yards from the shoreline of Matagorda Bay. Since 1885, this area has continued to be pounded by hurricanes. About 80% of the tombstones at the Indianola Cemetery have been lost.
There probably are older burials in Indianola Cemetery than Allan's, but his is the oldest grave in this cemetery with a tombstone.
James C. Allan's tombstone consists of a 1930-s vintage concrete block with a "Defender of the Republic of Texas" medallion on it. Tombstone and medallion were placed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) as part of activities around the 1936 Centennial anniversary of the founding of the Republic. The DRT searched for and marked all of the graves they could find of those who had fought for or participated in some way in the fight for Texas Liberty during the Texas Revolution.
James C Allan's tombstone reads as follows:
"JAMES C. ALLAN
1810-1851
TEXAS PATRIOT"
More on the colorful life and career of James C Allen can be found here in the Handbook of Texas online: (
visit link)
"ALLAN, JAMES C. (ca. 1810–unknown).James C. Allan (Allan), soldier and judge, was born in Kentucky and entered Texas as a first lieutenant with a battalion recruited in New York by colonels Edwin H. Stanley and Edwin Morehouse. This unit left New York on November 21, 1835, but did not reach Velasco until March 8, 1836, because the ship was seized by the United States Navy and held for fifty days. The battalion was assigned the job of escorting fleeing colonists to a safe place.
By December 31, 1836, Allan was captain in command of Company B of the First Volunteer Regiment, under Col. Joseph D. Rogers. He received a bounty warrant for 1,280 acres for service from January 1, 1836, to January 16, 1838. He also received a headright grant of one-third league in Victoria County.
On June 10, 1837, President Sam Houston nominated Allan for judge advocate general, but he was not confirmed by the Texas Senate. On November 10, 1837, he was nominated for chief justice of Refugio County; he was confirmed the next day but did not arrive at the post until the middle of 1838. In September 1839 it was reported to Secretary of War Albert Sidney Johnston that Allan was involved in cattle rustling. Allan served as chief justice in Refugio until March 30, 1840, when he resigned and moved to Victoria.
His application there for the post of judge of the Fourth Judicial District was defeated in the Republic of Texas Senate. In 1847 he was mayor of Victoria and in 1848 was chosen an elector for the Whig party. On May 2, 1839, Allan married Catharine Hay.
The census of 1850 indicates that he was forty years old at that time and had four children. Catharine Allan was alive during the Civil War. In 1878 two Victoria lots belonging to a James Allan were sold for unpaid taxes.
Sources:
Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Muster Rolls of the Texas Revolution (Austin, 1986). Charles Adams Gulick, Jr., Harriet Smither, et al., eds., The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (6 vols., Austin: Texas State Library, 1920–27; rpt., Austin: Pemberton Press, 1968). Hobart Huson, Refugio: A Comprehensive History of Refugio County from Aboriginal Times to 1953 (2 vols., Woodsboro, Texas: Rooke Foundation, 1953, 1955). John H. Jenkins, ed., The Papers of the Texas Revolution, 1835–1836 (10 vols., Austin: Presidial Press, 1973). Louis Wiltz Kemp Papers, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin. Thomas L. Miller, Bounty and Donation Land Grants of Texas, 1835–1888 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967). Amelia W. Williams and Eugene C. Barker, eds., The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813–1863 (8 vols., Austin: University of Texas Press, 1938–43; rpt., Austin and New York: Pemberton Press, 1970). E. W. Winkler, ed., Secret Journals of the Senate, Republic of Texas (Austin, 1911)."