Brite Cemetery
Leming, Atascosa County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Brite Cemetery has served citizens of Atascosa County since the 1850s. It was formally set aside when Thomas Ransdele Brite passed away in 1859, though the earliest marked burial is that of his infant son, Dan (d. 1854). Thomas Brite was born in 1824 and came to Texas with his parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Moore), in 1839. He joined the Republic of Texas Army in the 1840s and participated in the Vasquez Campaign, Woll Campaign and Somervell Expedition, where he was one of the Texans who returned home as ordered by Sam Houston, rather than continuing into Mexico. Brite also fought in the Mexican-American War. He would become Atascosa County's first tax assessor-collector and later serve as county treasurer. After Thomas Brite's death, the land was left to his wife, Mary Louisa Fuller, and their two living sons, William and Charles. By 1876, The Brite family sold their land to Robert E. Neill, a Texas Ranger and veteran of the Mexican-American War who would be buried in the cemetery upon his death in 1878. Another notable burial is that of Alfred Kelso, Sr. (d. 1898), a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto and sheriff of Gonzales County in the later 1830s and early 1840s. Also buried here are a number of other war veterans. At one time, the Neill Cemetery Association cared for the burial ground, but in 1955 the Brite Cemetery Association organized to care for the site. Today, Brite Cemetery still serves nearby communities as an important historical reminder of pioneer settlers of Atascosa County. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Brite Cemetery has served Atascosa County since the 1850s, formally set aside when pioneer Thomas Ransdele Brite died in 1859, though his infant son's 1854 grave is the earliest marked burial. Brite came to Texas in 1839, served in the Republic of Texas Army campaigns and the Mexican-American War, and became the county's first tax assessor-collector. Among those buried here are Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War veteran Robert E. Neill and San Jacinto veteran Alfred Kelso, alongside many other early settlers.
Why it matters
The cemetery gathers the soldiers and officials of the Republic and early statehood who settled the South Texas frontier, preserving the founding generation of Atascosa County.
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Related people
- · Thomas Ransdele Brite
- · Robert E. Neill
- · Alfred Kelso
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Thomas Ransdell Brite
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Born in Missouri in 1824 and raised in Bastrop County, Thomas Ransdell Brite came of age amid the conflicts of early Texas. He volunteered against Mexican incursions in the 1842 Vasquez, Woll, and Somervell campaigns, served in the Mexican War under Captain McCulloch in 1846, and joined the Texas Rangers in 1855 to counter frontier raids. Settling in what became Atascosa County, he was elected its first tax assessor-collector and later county treasurer before his death in 1859.
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