Anderson Cemetery
Carthage, Panola County, Texas
Marker Inscription
ANDERSON CEMETERY SITUATED ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF CARTHAGE ON A HILL SHADED BY LARGE TREES, ANDERSON CEMETERY IS THE BURIAL PLACE FOR MANY OF PANOLA COUNTY’S EARLY SETTLERS. THE CEMETERY WAS NAMED FOR JONATHAN ANDERSON (1798-1890), WHO DONATED 100 ACRES OF HIS LAND FOR THE TOWN OF CARTHAGE. HE WAS ELECTED AS COUNTY SHERIFF, AND WAS A VETERAN OF THE TEXAS REVOLUTION, HAVING SERVED DURING THE SIEGE OF BEXAR AND THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO. HIS FIRST WIFE, NANCY WHETMORE, WAS THE FIRST TO BE BURIED HERE. OTHERS INTERRED HERE WERE VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR, WWI AND WWII. MANY OF ANDERSON’S DESCENDANTS ARE ALSO BURIED HERE. THIS CEMETERY IS A RECORD OF EAST TEXAS PIONEERS AND THEIR WIDE VARIETY OF RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC CUSTOMS.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On a tree-shaded hill southeast of Carthage lies the burial place of many of Panola County's founding settlers, named for Jonathan Anderson (1798–1890), who donated 100 acres for the town itself. A veteran of the Texas Revolution who fought at the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto, Anderson went on to serve as county sheriff. His first wife, Nancy Whetmore, was the first laid to rest here, followed by veterans of the Civil War and both World Wars.
Why it matters
The grave of a San Jacinto veteran who literally gave the land for his county seat links the founding of an American town to the revolution that made Texas independent.
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Related people
- · Jonathan Anderson
- · Nancy Whetmore Anderson
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
- · Siege of Bexar
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Jonathan Anderson
Carthage, TX
Kentucky-born Jonathan "Old Shelby" Anderson came to this region while Texas was still Mexican territory, then took up arms in the Texas Revolution and fought at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. In 1848 he gave 100 acres to establish Carthage as the seat of the newly organized Panola County, and later served as sheriff and tax assessor-collector. The park on the old courthouse square was named in his honor in 1956.
James Rowe
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James Rowe came to the Mexican frontier of Texas from North Carolina and took up arms in the 1836 revolution that won Texas its independence. A prosperous tanner, he helped organize newly created Panola County in 1846, served a term in the young state's legislature, and donated the ground where this cemetery now stands. His story is a compact portrait of the settler-soldiers who turned a contested borderland into an American state.
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