Berryman Cemetery
Alto, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
James Dill, an early Anglo settler who would become the first alcalde at Nacogdoches under Mexican rule, petitioned the Spanish government in 1802 for land that included this site. He married Helena Kimble, who later divided the property among their children after his death. The tract conveyed to daughter Helena (Dill) Berryman and her husband Capt. Henry Berryman included this site. Born in Virginia, Capt. Berryman graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was stationed in Louisiana, where he met Helena, who was attending school at Natchitoches. The two married and lived in Louisiana, later returning to Teas and building a log home called Forest Hill. Capt. Berryman encouraged farmers to settle this area. Following his death in 1859, Helena remained at Forest Hill, raising thirty orphans in addition to her three children and becoming an early contributor to the Buckner Baptist Children's Home. She passed away in 1888. Other buried here include former slaves "Aunt" Sally and "Uncle" Alex Berryman; Civil Water veteran, Alto civic leader and Cherokee County Commissioner Henry Water Berryman; and former Cleveland Indians baseball player, Carl Yowell. The earliest marked grave is that of Catherine Josephine Berryman, daughter of Helena and Henry, who died in 1849. Descendants formed the Berryman Cemetery Association to care for the burial ground. Today, the burial ground is a reminder of a pioneering Texas family vital to the development of Alto and Cherokee County. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2006
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The land around Berryman Cemetery traces back to a 1802 Spanish grant sought by James Dill, who would become the first alcalde of Nacogdoches under Mexican rule. His daughter Helena and her husband, West Point graduate Capt. Henry Berryman, built the plantation home 'Forest Hill' and encouraged farmers to settle the area; after Henry's death in 1859, Helena stayed on and raised thirty orphans alongside her own children. The burial ground that grew here holds the family, former slaves Sally and Alex Berryman, a Civil War veteran and county commissioner, and even a former Cleveland Indians ballplayer.
Why it matters
Spanning Spanish, Mexican, and Republic-era Texas, the Berryman story compresses the region's tangled path to statehood — land grants, frontier settlement, slavery, and civic building — into a single family plot.
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Related people
- · James Dill
- · Henry Berryman
- · Helena Dill Berryman
Themes & tags
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