Life goes on, then and now

Of all the early settlers of Gonzales and Green De Witt’s Colony, certainly one of the more outstanding residents was Jacob C. Darst. Arriving in 1831 from Missouri, Darst became involved in the discussions of independence from the Republic of Mexico, and the desire of the colonists to obtain their freedom from the constraints placed upon them by the laws of Mexico. He believed with all his heart in the cause for freedom, and participated every way he could in the pursuit of the goal. He was a member of the “Old Eighteen,” the group of Gonzales men who stood on the east bank of the Guadalupe River in September of 1835, and defended the town against the Mexican troops who demanded the cannon.
Jacob Darst was one of the volunteers who fired the first shot in the Texas Revolution here in Gonzales on October 2, 1835. Tragically, he was one of the “Immortal Thirty-Two,” men from Gonzales who responded to the letter of Colonel Travis at the Alamo asking for help as the troops of General Santa Anna made their attack. Jacob C. Darst died in the Alamo along with all the other Alamo defenders.
Margaret Darst, wife of Jacob Darst, was surely shocked at the news of the fall of the Alamo and her husband’s death. Her travail would continue as she and her children joined the citizens of Gonzales and Green DeWitt’s Colony as they fled to the east ahead of the approaching army of General Santa Anna. This period of time in the history of Texas is called “The Runaway Scrape,” and is filled with numerous stories of hardship, sacrifice, and pain suffered by our people as they literally ran for their lives. But, somehow in all of this grief and chaos, life goes on. Life must go on.
Margaret Darst and her children returned to Gonzales after her numbing, life changing experiences to start her life all over again. According to the Probate Records of Gonzales County, she filed an application with the court in August of 1837, to sell the land of her deceased husband to pay her husband’s debts. Keep in mind, this is just a little over a year after Jacob Darst died in the Alamo. The court approved the sale of 177 acres at 50 cents an acre (river bottom land); 320 acres of land at 12 and Vi cents per acre (land Jacob Darst received for serving in the Texas Army); and two lots in the Town of Gonzales at $20.50 each. The total for the sale was $169.50 to pay the debts of Alamo Defender, Jacob C. Darst. The message we may draw from the court application filed by Margaret Darst, and the subsequent sale of her husband’s land is that no matter what takes place, life goes on.
After the victory at San Jacinto in April of 1836, the citizens of Gonzales returned home, and started rebuilding the town. Life goes on. Babies were born; houses re-built: people died; businesses opened. Life goes on. Churches were built; couples were married; a school was built. Life goes on.
An event may occur in our lives that is so shocking, so devastating that it challenges the foundation of our beliefs. But life goes on. And it must. And we must join it. We must get out of bed and participate, for life is moving on. For to fail to participate is contrary to the purpose for which God placed us here, and is an injustice to all those who died to give us freedom to live our lives as we choose. We hear of the death of a friend or acquaintance, and we think about it for a while, trying to remember when was the last time we saw them or spoke with them. And we grieve and reminisce. We enumerate the contributions made by the deceased to the community; we recall the high school class, the various activities, and maybe even comment about the wealth of the departed. But, after a while the comments are fewer, and the recollections become more distant in our minds, until they drift away to a place of reverent forgotteness. And well they should, for this is our time. This is our place. God has put us right here, right now - to participate; to contribute; to make a difference. For we must. Life goes on. And it will.
And Margaret Darst, widow of Jacob Darst, just a handful of months after her husband died in the Alamo, is selling land - to pay his debts. And life goes on. And it must.
And that is part of our history. The history of Gonzales. Gonzales Texas is the Birthplace of Your Texas Freedom.