Alexander Cemetery
Bryan, Brazos County, Texas
Marker Inscription
There was a schoolhouse near this site in 1854 when, according to tradition, the first interment was made here. That early grave, for a child by the name of Whitley, had no marker and has been lost. This land was part of a one-league headright grant made on Oct. 15, 1832, by Mexico to George W. Singleton, who had come to Texas with the "Old 300" settlers of Stephen F. Austin. Two of Singleton's heirs, living in Washington County, on Oct. 2, 1856, deeded ten acres from the grant for the use and benefit of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The Alexander Church building was then erected near the school, and burials were continued in the area. The earliest identifiable grave is that of one of the original trustees of the property, James Walker (1817-74). William Lawrence, another of the first trustees, was also buried here, in 1879. The Alexander Cemetery Association was formed in 1941, with A.J. McCallum as President and L.T. Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer. Joe B. Walker, Wilson's successor, has served the association for 27 years. The association installed the chain link fence and water supply system. There are about 300 marked graves, and the cemetery is still open to burials.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The ground here was part of an 1832 headright granted by Mexico to George W. Singleton, one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300" colonists, and burials are said to have begun by 1854 near an early schoolhouse. In 1856 Singleton's heirs deeded ten acres for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Alexander Church rose beside the school as interments continued. With some three hundred marked graves, the cemetery remains open to burials and cared for by an association formed in 1941.
Why it matters
Tied to Austin's original colonists, the cemetery links present-day Brazos County to the very first wave of Anglo-American settlement in Mexican Texas.
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Related people
- · George W. Singleton
- · James Walker
- · William Lawrence
Themes & tags
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