HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Beall Cemetery

La Vernia, Wilson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Beall Cemetery, located in the Young Perry Alsbury Survey, began as a family burial ground on the farm of early settlers Erasmus (Erastus) and Elizabeth Brinkley Beall, parents of six sons and four daughters. The Beall family migrated to Texas from Warren County, Georgia by 1853 and purchased land from San Antonio realtor John James and additional acreage from San Antonio banker John Twohig. The eldest son, William Henry Beall, passed away in 1854 and the family buried him at this site. Elizabeth Beall (d. 1869) and her granddaughter, Susan Emeline (d. 1871) were the last family members buried here; the gravesite of Erasmus Beall remains unknown. No other interments occurred here until the late 20th century. In 1981, land containing the cemetery transferred to Countryside Memorial Park, which officially incorporated the next year. Beall Cemetery, though small, now serves as a testament to the lives of a pioneer family and others who settled and lived in this area of Wilson County. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Erasmus and Elizabeth Beall brought their large family from Warren County, Georgia, to Texas by 1853, buying land from San Antonio figures John James and banker John Twohig. The family plot began in 1854 with the burial of their eldest son, William Henry, and the last of the early Beall interments came in 1871. After lying quiet for more than a century, the site was folded into Countryside Memorial Park in the early 1980s.

Why it matters

Small family burial grounds like Beall Cemetery document the migration of Southern families into frontier Texas and the pioneer households that settled Wilson County.

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Related people

  • · Erasmus Beall
  • · Elizabeth Brinkley Beall
  • · William Henry Beall

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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