Notes
on
Joseph Fuqua
by
Thomas
|
"The Yellow Rose of Texas" |
The settler who gave the town of "Liberty"
his land, and Texas his sons. Born on May 4, 1756 and dying
May 4th seventy-three years later, Joseph Fuqua led a generally quiet life as a farmer and family man. He is
remembered in Bedford today for an outstanding act of generosity he shared with another man who went on to obscurity. Joseph Fuqua and William Downing donated the 100 Acres that became
the site of the town established in 1782 as "Liberty". He had fought in the Revolutionary War before settling in this area, enlisting
Feb.22, 1776 and fighting in the battles of Cowpens and
Brandywine. He was discharged in 1778. His father had also been a Revolutionary War Soldier. In 1782, the same year he donated the land for "Liberty", he married the former Celia Bondurant, and they had six sons and five daughters, most of whom eventually moved to Texas. The Fuqua’s were Baptist, (Joshua Fuqua was the first deacon at Lowry Meeting House, now
(Timber Ridge Baptist Church). The family was renowned for its hospitality. The Cemetery off Orange
Street in Bedford, where Joseph Fuqua is buried, was uncovered a few years ago by Mrs. R. N. Krebs, who was curator of the
Bedford
City/County Museum. When it was found Joseph's
Will provided the cemetery should never be sold , the company that had purchased it, deeded the site to the city, which maintains it today.
Joseph Fuqua is also appreciated in Texas, where so many of his descendants settled. A grandson of his, 16-year old
Galba Fuqua, was the youngest soldier to die at the Battle of the Alamo.
Coincidentally, another of Joseph's descendants was instrumental in providing one of Bedford's best
known
landmarks. Fred Fuqua of Lynchburg, a direct descendant of Joseph's son Abraham, who stayed in Bedford County, was the contractor who built the present courthouse in 1930. It
was Fred Fuqua who formally presented the cemetery to the city in the dedication ceremony in 1975.