Capt. Benjamin I. Harper

Benjamin Ingram Harper (b. 1809) came to Texas from Virginia, and in 1833, he worked as a schoolmaster in Liberty County. He wed Evelina Vocum in 1834 and had a son. The next year, under Andrew Briscoe, he fought at the battle of Concepción and the Siege of Bexar. In 1836, commissioned as a second lieutenant, he organized a company to assist at the Alamo. They did not reach it in time but did fight at the Battle of San Jacinto. Harper became a captain and received land in Polk and Jefferson counties. He remarried to Nancy J. Reynolds and had four children. Tradition holds that he was buried on his Walker County farm in 1863. The cemetery is now gone, but several of his descendants are buried here. (2003)

Capt. Benjamin I. Harper is a historical marker in Riverside, Walker County, dedicated in 2003. It is one of 69 historical markers documented in Walker County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 110 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.9790, -95.4721 near Riverside. The nearest cataloged historic site is Chalk Cemetery (historical marker), about 0.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Dunlap, Clapp, and Spivey.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5471013155. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.