George Washington Marion Duck

Pleasanton's cemetery began as a single acre of the Doak homestead, set aside after the Doaks buried their young son Gustave there in 1865. G.W.M. Duck's family bought the Doak property in 1884. Martha Duck was buried there in 1890, and in April 1891 his daughter Eva and then his wife Evaline died three days apart. In 1892 the sheriff donated an adjoining parcel, neighbors followed, and the ground became Pleasanton Cemetery. Duck Street is named for the family. His daughter Mahalia, born in 1856, was among the first babies born in the new county.

What the plaque says

George Washington Marion Duck Between 1852 and 1854, George Washington Marion (G.W.M.) Duck (1828-1899), his wife, Evaline White Duck (1829-1891), and their children left Somerset, Kentucky, and settled southwest of San Antonio in an area eventually called Somerset. In 1854, Duck was sworn in as Bexar County Constable and then, after Atascosa County was formed from Bexar County in 1856, elected Atascosa County Tax Assessor-Collector in 1858. He held that position until 1873 when he was elected Sheriff for multiple terms. In the early 1890s, Duck lost his wife and daughters to smallpox and buried them on his Pleasanton property. Duck later donated that portion adjoining an existing cemetery that is now known as Pleasanton City Cemetery. As a dedicated public servant, G.W.M. Duck passed away on May 22, 1899, and is buried in Pleasanton City Cemetery. (2016)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Longhorn Museum — 1.6 mi
  Atascosa County in one roadside museum: longhorn-and-mustang ranching, a moved railroad depot and caboose, a horse-drawn hearse and the town that calls itself the birthplace of the cowboy.
• Atascosa County Courthouse — 4.7 mi
  The only surviving Mission Revival courthouse in Texas, built in 1912-13 on Jourdanton's town circle after a county seat vote that some residents still call a theft.
• Mission Espada and the Espada Aqueduct — 25 mi
  The southernmost San Antonio mission and the oldest Spanish aqueduct in the United States, still carrying river water over Sixmile Creek to the fields after nearly three centuries.

More markers nearby

• Pleasanton — steps away
• Old Rock Schoolhouse — 0.2 mi
• Pleasanton School Integration — 0.7 mi
• Capt. Peter F. Tumlinson — 0.7 mi