Biggerstaff Cemetery
Dodd City, Fannin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(One-third mile south) The families of Oliver (1812-1872) and Mary (Livingston) Jackson (1818-1890) and George (1823-1906) and Didama (Jackson) Biggerstaff (1835-1902) moved here from Missouri and settled on adjoining farms in 1854. The Jacksons erected a schoolhouse on their property and this cemetery was established on the Biggerstaff farm. The first recorded burial here was that of Grant Clutter in 1864. The cemetery, which contains about 50 burials, served as the graveyard for the Jackson and Biggerstaff families and their descendants. The last recorded burial was that of Russell McCormack in 1935. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1854 the Jackson and Biggerstaff families left Missouri and settled adjoining farms in Fannin County, quickly building the twin institutions of frontier community — a schoolhouse on one farm and a family burial ground on the other. The cemetery's first recorded burial came in 1864, and roughly fifty graves accumulated before the last interment in 1935. It remains the resting place of two pioneer clans and their descendants.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the memory of the interlinked pioneer families whose farms, schools, and graveyards knit the North Texas frontier into settled community.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the 1850s, North Texas was filling with families from the upper South and the Midwest. Texas had joined the United States in 1845, and fertile land along the Red River country drew settlers looking for a fresh start. Many came from Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, traveling by wagon with their household goods, livestock and tools.
Fannin County, in the Red River region, was one of the destinations for this movement. Settlers cleared land, built cabins and established farms. With no towns close by in many cases, families had to build the basic institutions of community themselves.
The decade after their arrival brought the Civil War, which touched Texas families deeply even though few major battles were fought in the northern part of the state. The burials in small family cemeteries during and after those years reflect the hardships of frontier life in a time of national upheaval.
People & events
In 1854, two related families left Missouri for Texas. Oliver Jackson, born in 1812, and his wife, Mary Livingston Jackson, born in 1818, brought their household. So did George Biggerstaff, born in 1823, and his wife, Didama Jackson Biggerstaff, born in 1835. Didama's maiden name, Jackson, hints at how closely these families were tied. They settled on neighboring farms, building lives side by side.
The two families shared the work of building a community. The Jacksons put up a schoolhouse on their land, giving children a place to learn. On the Biggerstaff farm, a cemetery was established. Between them, the two farms provided both a place to begin life's learning and a place to end life's journey.
The first recorded burial in the cemetery was that of Grant Clutter in 1864. Over the years, about 50 people were laid to rest here, mostly members of the Jackson and Biggerstaff families and their descendants. The founders themselves passed on over the following decades, from Oliver Jackson in 1872 to George Biggerstaff in 1906. The last recorded burial was that of Russell McCormack in 1935.
Its place in the American story
Small family cemeteries like this one dot the American countryside, and together they tell the story of how the nation was settled. The westward movement was not only about famous trails and explorers. It was about families like the Jacksons and Biggerstaffs who packed up, moved hundreds of miles and built new lives from the ground up.
The pairing of a schoolhouse and a cemetery on neighboring farms shows how pioneers created community. Education and the care of the dead were among the first shared responsibilities of rural settlements across the country. Families did not wait for government to provide them. They built them together.
The span of burials, from 1864 to 1935, also captures a long stretch of American history. The families who arrived when Texas was a young state lived through the Civil War, Reconstruction and the transformation of the countryside. Their descendants carried the story into the twentieth century. A quiet graveyard like this one holds that whole arc.
If you visit
The cemetery lies about one-third of a mile south of the marker, out in the rural countryside near Dodd City. The setting is peaceful and open, much like the farmland the Jacksons and Biggerstaffs first settled. Take a moment to look at the land around you and imagine the two families working adjoining fields.
If you visit the cemetery itself, treat it with care and respect. Old grave markers can be fragile, and some may be worn or hard to read. Look for the family names from the marker, and notice the dates that stretch from the Civil War era into the 1930s. Be mindful of private property and access.
This stop fits well into a drive through Fannin County and the Red River region of North Texas. Small towns, farms and old cemeteries reveal the history of pioneer settlement better than any museum can. Here you can stand quietly among the graves of the families who helped turn this frontier into a lasting community.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · George Biggerstaff
- · Oliver Jackson
Themes & tags
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