John C. Duval

John C. Duval was born in 1816 to a distinguished family in Kentucky. Upon meeting fellow Texas Ranger Big-Foot Wallace, the two became fast friends. Duval went on to fight for the South in the Civil War, and retired to a backyard cabin in Texas to live out the remainder of his life as a surveyor and prospector, often visiting Wallace to talk about the old days. Duval wrote extensively about the nostalgia of the Old West, and was called the "first Texas man of letters." Duval died in Fort Worth...See more

John C. Duval was born in 1816 to a distinguished family in Kentucky. Upon meeting fellow Texas Ranger Big-Foot Wallace, the two became fast friends. Duval went on to fight for the South in the Civil War, and retired to a backyard cabin in Texas to live out the remainder of his life as a surveyor and prospector, often visiting Wallace to talk about the old days. Duval wrote extensively about the nostalgia of the Old West, and was called the "first Texas man of letters." Duval died in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1897, two years before Wallace. See less