Breeding Family Cemetery / First School in Fayette County
Fayetteville, Fayette County, Texas
Marker Inscription
David and Sarah Davis Breeding came to Texas from Kentucky and settled here in 1833 with sons John, Richard L., Napoleon B., Fidelio S., and Benjamin W.; John, Napoleon, and Fidelio Breeding fought in Texas Army during the War for Independence, participating in the victory at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. IN 1838 David Breeding was a member of the board of Land Commissioners of Fayette County. John was the first county sheriff, also taking office in 1838. Family cemetery was opened with burial of David Breeding, 1843. Sarah and John Breeding also lie here. In a log house on Breeding's land, the first known school session in Fayette County was taught in 1834 by a Mr. Rutland. Attending were Edward, George, Gus, and James Breeding, orphan nephews of David Breeding; Lyman Alexander, Patsie Dougherty, Marian and Sally York, and Emily Alexander (later Mrs. Joel Robison, wife of one of the captors of Santa Anna), whose father Sam Alexander kept four students as boarders. Capt. Jesse Burnham (or Burnam) brought his children 15 miles and built a shed tent with a long bedstead for the girls; the boys slept under the trees. Incise in base: Marker Sponsor: Fayette County Historical Survey Committee and Seth D. Breeding.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
David and Sarah Breeding came from Kentucky in 1833 with their sons to settle here in Mexican Texas, and three of those sons—John, Napoleon, and Fidelio—fought in the Texian army, sharing in the victory at San Jacinto in 1836. On the family's land in 1834, a teacher named Rutland held what is remembered as the first school session in Fayette County, drawing children from settler families for miles around. The family cemetery opened with David Breeding's burial in 1843 and still holds him and his kin.
Why it matters
This one plot binds together the founding threads of Anglo Texas—pioneer settlement, the fight for independence at San Jacinto, and the first flickering of frontier schooling.
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Related people
- · David Breeding
- · Sarah Davis Breeding
- · John Breeding
- · Jesse Burnham
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
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