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Reconstruction & Gilded AgeProgressive & Modern Era

Cover Cemetery

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

COVER CEMETERY JOHN B. COVER (1857-1914) AND HIS WIFE, VIRGINIA STEELE COVER (1860-1925), DONATED LAND IN THE LATE 1800s THAT BECAME THE COVER CEMETERY. THE OLDEST MARKED GRAVE IS DATED NOV. 1896. MANY COVER FAMILY MEMBERS, CLOSE FRIENDS AND VETERANS ARE BURIED IN THE CEMETERY, INCLUDING TOMMY FERRIL, WHO LIVED TO BE 107 YEARS OLD. IN 1994, A SECOND TRACT WAS DONATED TO THE CEMETERY THROUGH THE ESTATE OF DR. ELLEN C. COVER (1886-1965). DR. ELLEN COVER, A PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON, ALSO DONATED LAND FOR THE COVER YOUTH CENTER AND ESTABLISHED A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR COVER FAMILY MEMBERS. COVER FAMILY DESCENDANTS MAINTAIN THIS HISTORIC CEMETERY AND ITS RECORDS.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

John B. Cover and his wife Virginia donated land in the late 1800s for this family cemetery, where the oldest marked grave dates to 1896. Family members, friends, and veterans rest here, including a man said to have lived to 107. Dr. Ellen C. Cover — a physician and surgeon — later added land and endowed a youth center and scholarship, and Cover descendants still maintain the grounds and records.

Why it matters

The cemetery preserves the history of a pioneering Texas family, including a woman who broke into medicine and gave back to her community as a doctor and benefactor.

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Related people

  • · John B. Cover
  • · Virginia Steele Cover
  • · Ellen C. Cover

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Women's HistoryLandmark

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