Bridges Chapel Cemetery
Mount Pleasant vicinity, Titus County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Relious and Candice Grissom Bridges settled in this area between 1857 and 1860 along with Candice's brother Thomas Grissom. In 1867 the family gave land for a Methodist church and cemetery at this site. The first burial is believed to have been that of a laborer for Thomas Grissom. The earliest marked grave is that of Mary Bridges Williams, who died giving birth to her third child, a son who died with her in 1868. Both Relious and Candice Bridges died on October 11 of that year. Six more of their children are interred here. A 1904 tornado scattered the fragile wooden markers in the Bridges Cemetery, but order was restored. Perpetual care was established here in the 1960s, and the Bridges Chapel Cemetery continues as a chronicle of the early pioneers of Titus County and the surrounding areas. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Relious and Candice Bridges settled here in the late 1850s with Candice's brother Thomas Grissom, and in 1867 the family gave land for a Methodist church and cemetery. Loss came quickly: Mary Bridges Williams died in childbirth in 1868, and both Relious and Candice died on the same October day that year, with six of their children later interred here. A 1904 tornado scattered the fragile wooden markers before order was restored.
Why it matters
This pioneer graveyard is a chronicle of the early families of Titus County, its clustered 1868 deaths a stark reminder of how precarious life was on the Texas frontier.
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Related people
- · Relious Bridges
- · Candice Grissom Bridges
- · Thomas Grissom
- · Mary Bridges Williams
Themes & tags
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