Thomas Walter Blake

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Blake

Brigadier General,
Thomas Walter Blake,

Born June 6, 1822,
Fayetteville, N.C.,

Died January 14, 1905,
Plantersville, Texas,

Pioneer Texas lawyer,
soldier and preacher
who served in bringing
law, order and religion
to the Lone Star Republic
and people of Texas

Frontier
Lawyer

1845, Began law
practice and married
Benigna Durst in
Old Stone Fort
Nacogdoches

Eminent attorney
in Leon County
and Plantersville

As early state's attorney,
brought law and order
to Texas

Circuit
Rider

1857 founded
First Methodist Church
of Plantersville

For half a century
as circuit rider and
preacher, covered
many wilderness
settlements by
horseback, bringing
medicine, religion
and law to whites,
blacks and Indians

Soldier

Major and Colonel
of militia in times
of Indian trouble

Brigadier General
under Magruder druing
the Confederate War

Commanded 17th
Texas Brigade at
Camps Anderson
and Lubbock

Missionary to
Tom Green's and
Major's Brigades
Full Name: Thomas Walter Blake
Location: Section:Confederate Field, Section 2 (D)
Row:J  Number:8
Reason for Eligibility: Confederate Veteran 
Birth Date: June 6, 1822 
Died: January 14, 1905 
Burial Date: Reinterred May 6, 1996 
 

BLAKE, THOMAS WALTER (1822 ~ 1905) Thomas Walter Blake, soldier, lawyer and preacher in early Texas, was born June 6, 1822, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He graduated from Randolph Macon College in Virginia in 1842, and, after being licensed by the Supreme Court of North Carolina in 1843, set off for the Republic of Texas.

In 1847, after roaming around Texas for three years, Blake married the former Mary Benigna Durst, the first Caucasian woman born in Texas. Later that year, he helped create the first District Court in northeast Texas, where he served as its state attorney.

In 1848, Blake moved to Leon County, Texas, near modern day Centerville. Ten years later, he closed his law practice, after working with such notables as Sam Houston and Robert "Three-Legged Willie" Williamson to become a preacher. He served as a circuit rider, traveling and preaching to thirteen churches in Leon County.

In 1861, Blake enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was given command of the 17th Texas Brigade and was charged with defending Fort Lubbock from invasion. He resigned his commission in 1863 to continue his religious works. He died January 14, 1905 in Plantersville, Texas.

Information obtained from family records.
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