Shiner, Lavaca County
SARAH HOWARD SUFFERED MUCH AT THE SAVAGERY OF THE TEXAS WILDERNESS. BORN IN ILLINOIS, SARAH CAME TO TEXAS WITH HER HUSBAND, JOHN McSHERRY, IN 1828. THE NEXT YEAR, JOHN WAS KILLED NEAR THEIR HOME BY INDIANS. SARAH LATER MARRIED JOHN HIBBENS, BUT INDIANS TOOK THE LIVES OF JOHN AND SARAH’S BROTHER NEAR THIS SITE. SARAH AND HER TWO SONS WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE, AND SHE ALONE ESCAPED. EVENTUALLY, SARAH’S OLDEST SON WAS RETURNED UNHARMED. IN 1836, SARAH MARRIED CLAIBORNE STINNETT. TWO YEARS LATER, HE WAS KILLED BY RUNAWAY SLAVES. IN 1839, SARAH MARRIED COL. PHILLIP HOWARD IN GONZALES. SARAH EPITOMIZES THE TEXAS PIONEER WOMAN BY HER DETERMINATION AND WILL TO SURVIVE.