Devine Evergreen Cemetery
Devine, Medina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Although a fire destroyed the earliest written records of this burial ground, it is known that the first graves are those of Elisha Whitley and Henry McCray who were killed by hostile Indians in 1872. Another early grave is that of Isaac Galbreath (d. 1874), killed by Indians at the age of seventeen. His father, Thomas Galbreath (1823-1902), a Texas Ranger and veteran of the Mexican War (1846-48), is also interred here. The town of Devine was established in 1881 when a line of the International and Great Northern Railroad was competed from San Antonio to Laredo. It was named for Judge Thomas J. Devine who served as the Attorney for the Railroad Company. J.M. Bright (b. 1830), owner of land platted for the townsite, is buried here. In 1891 P.C. Hattox conveyed the original 6.5 acres of land at this site for designation as Evergreen Cemetery. A cemetery association, formed the same year, was set up to sell lots and direct volunteer clean-up days. Additional property was later acquired to provide for future expansion. Reorganized in the 1960s because of the declining condition of the cemetery, the association provided for the collection of voluntary donations to be used for maintenance of the grounds. 1980
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The earliest graves in this Medina County cemetery belong to settlers killed by Native American raiders in the early 1870s, including seventeen-year-old Isaac Galbreath, whose father — a Texas Ranger and Mexican War veteran — also rests here. The town of Devine grew up in 1881 when the International and Great Northern Railroad reached the area, and landowner P.C. Hattox deeded the original acreage for the cemetery in 1891. A cemetery association has cared for the grounds ever since.
Why it matters
The burial ground preserves the frontier origins of a South Texas town, from the deadly clashes of early settlement to the railroad that finally secured its future.
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Related people
- · Thomas Galbreath
- · Isaac Galbreath
- · Thomas J. Devine
- · P.C. Hattox
Themes & tags
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