Drummond Cemetery
Abilene, Taylor County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1879, after her husband's death in Jamaica, Helen Fanny Harris Drummond returned with her children to England. She immigrated with them to the United States in 1885, settling in Brazos County, Texas. In October 1891, she purchased 100 acres in Taylor County, including this site, from the Hammond family. By 1895, she had donated two acres for the Drummond Cemetery; the deed for the property was officially recorded in 1901. The earliest grave is believed to be that of an infant buried in 1892. Later that year, the infant son of Joseph C. and Nannie Stewart Hammond died and was interred here. His is the earliest marked grave. Helen Drummond's grave dates to 1896. Several of her descendants, as well as those of the Hammonds, are also interred at the cemetery. Of note is the gravesite of pioneer settler Martha Jones Hardin Heffernan (d. 1918), who was living in the area by 1880. Today, the burial ground, enlarged in 1996, is maintained by a cemetery association of community residents and family members. It remains an important link between early area settlers and the generations that have followed. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Widowed in Jamaica in 1879, Englishwoman Helen Fanny Harris Drummond brought her children first back to England and then, in 1885, to Texas. In 1891 she bought 100 acres in Taylor County and within a few years set aside two of them for a community cemetery, where an infant's 1892 grave is thought to be the earliest. Her own resting place dates to 1896, and her descendants lie alongside pioneer neighbors on ground still maintained by a local association.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the story of an immigrant widow who helped anchor a west Texas farming community, a reminder of the women and newcomers who shaped the frontier.
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Related people
- · Helen Fanny Harris Drummond
Themes & tags
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