Denson Springs Cemetery
Slocum, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Early settlers of this area, known as Ioni after a nearby Indian village, began arriving in the early 1830s. The land on which this cemetery is located was granted to James Bradshaw in 1835. When he died in 1844, the property was inherited by his brother, William, who moved here with his family from Nacogdoches in 1849. One of William Bradshaw's daughters, Diana, married Kindred Watkins in 1850. When their first child, a son, was born and died on August 15, 1851, he was buried near their home. The child's burial was the first in what would become Denson Springs Cemetery. Over the years, this one-acre plot became a family burial ground. Later, other settlers of the area were also buried here, and when the name of the community was changed in 1878 to Denson Springs, this site became known as the Denson Springs Cemetery. Besides the marked graves, it is believed there are a number of unmarked burials. Veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II are interred here. The graveyard was deeded to the Denson Springs Cemetery Association in 1980. Set in a grove of trees, it is a quiet reminder of the area's early pioneers and settlers. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settlers reached this area—known as Ioni after a nearby Indian village—in the early 1830s, and the land was granted to James Bradshaw in 1835. The cemetery began in 1851 with the burial of the infant son of Kindred and Diana (Bradshaw) Watkins near the family home, growing from a family plot into a community graveyard renamed Denson Springs in 1878. Set in a grove of trees, it holds marked and unmarked pioneer graves and the resting places of veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.
Why it matters
The cemetery is a quiet chronicle of East Texas pioneer settlement and of the generations of local men who served in the nation's wars.
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Related people
- · James Bradshaw
- · William Bradshaw
- · Diana Bradshaw Watkins
- · Kindred Watkins
Themes & tags
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