Kerr County Stories by Lanza Teague

Henry Harrison "Hen" Baker, his wife Sarah Coker Baker and some of their children. A man can be revered and called a hero by some, while others call him a villain. The subject of today’s column was a complicated man of contradictions.  As one account states, “Hen Baker was at one time a Texas Ranger and part-time deputy sheriff. His experience on the right side of the law evidently didn’t make much of an impression of him for he hardened in his old age. Hen always stayed in trouble but his dry wit and sharp reasoning usually kept him out of jail." The story of Hen Baker is one that has fascinated me for years. His family still lives in Kerr County, and I am not writing this column to embarrass anyone. My intent here is to set the record straight on a complex individual — a man who died more than 90 years ago but continues to inspire debate among the older families in the western part of the county. I was meticulous in my research for this column, using not just local his...

Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on June 6, 2026 An early photo of San Antonio Street in Center Point. The Burney Family settled in Center Point and descendants still live there today In 1856, when the State of Texas granted a petition to form Kerr County, and Kerrville was named the county seat, there were only 10 families living in Kerrville. Today’s column is about one of those families, with emphasis on one of the members of that family, W.D.C. Burney. William Dewitt Clinton Burney, known to his friends as Dewitt, was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, on Oct. 16, 1828. He was one of six children born to Robert and Lydia McCain Burney. Dewitt’s father served as Guildford County Sheriff from 1820-26.  When Dewitt was a child, the family moved to McNary County, Tennessee. At the age of 21, DeWitt, his older brother, Robert (1833-1905) and a neighbor, Tom Saner (1826-93) decided to strike out on their own and head west. They stopped for a while in Arkansas, but wa...