Crosby Cemetery
Mason vicinity, Mason County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first burial ground for the citizens of Mason and Koocksville, this cemetery traces its history to the 1850s. The oldest documented burial is that of Kate Lemburg, who died in 1856. Also interred here is Mason County's first sheriff, Thomas Milligan (1810-1860). The Crosby family purchased the property surrounding the cemetery in 1866, and it has been known as Crosby cemetery since that time. Those buried in the cemetery include members of the Crosby and other pioneer families. It stands as a reflection of the area's heritage. (1988)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This burial ground served the earliest citizens of Mason and nearby Koocksville, with its oldest recorded grave dating to 1856. Among those laid to rest here is the county's first sheriff, Thomas Milligan. The Crosby family bought the surrounding land in 1866, giving the cemetery the name it has carried ever since.
Why it matters
Pioneer cemeteries preserve the names and lineages of the families who first settled a frontier county, anchoring its collective memory.
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Related people
- · Thomas Milligan
- · Kate Lemburg
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Two Sheriffs of Mason County
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This marker remembers two Mason County lawmen from the same family, separated by nearly seventy years. Kentucky-born Thomas Milligan ran a stage station and supplied beef to Fort Mason before becoming the county's first elected sheriff in 1858; two years later he was killed near his home. His grandson, Allen Thomas Murray, took up the same office in 1924 and likewise died in the line of duty, shot by a bootlegger in 1929.
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