Ferguson Cemetery
Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Joseph and Hannah (Penrod) Ferguson moved to this area in the 1830s, years before the formation of Limestone County following Texas statehood. Their property, known as Ferguson Prairie, stretched from sough of the early Box Church community to beyond, and including, present-day Oletha. Records indicate the Fergusons were founding members of the Oletha community, established in the 1870s. Other early residents included J.S. and W.S. McKenzie, John Sadler, Charles Roberts and W.W. Barnett. Local tradition holds the first burial at what became the community cemetery was for a young girl whose family was in the area for a protracted camp revival when she died. The first marked grave is that of Hannah (Penrod) Ferguson (d. 1866). Joseph, who died in 1875, is buried beside her. Notable burials include the one of John Sadler (d. 1885), who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. The original Ferguson Cemetery site was formally deeded to the community in 1932. In 1997, descendants of those interred here formed an association to maintain the burial ground, an important link to the community's early history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Joseph and Hannah Ferguson settled this stretch of prairie in the 1830s, before Limestone County even existed, on land that came to bear their name. They were founders of the nearby Oletha community, and the burial ground grew from an early camp-revival death into the resting place of area pioneers—including John Sadler, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. Descendants formed an association in 1997 to preserve it.
Why it matters
With a San Jacinto veteran among its graves, the cemetery links a farming community's origins directly to the Texas Revolution and the earliest days of Anglo settlement.
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Related people
- · Joseph Ferguson
- · Hannah Penrod Ferguson
- · John Sadler
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
John Sadler
Groesbeck, TX
Born in 1811, John Sadler came to Texas in 1833 and joined the fight for Texas independence, serving as a volunteer in Captain William Ware's company at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. He and his wife Bashie lived out their lives on the Texas land they helped win, dying within months of each other in 1885.
Sansom/Wedgman Cemetery
Groesbeck, TX
Soon after the Civil War, a group of settlers from Mississippi — among them Dr. J. L. Sansom, P. K. McKenzie, and Allen Goodwin — came to this creekside spot on a tributary of the Navasota River and built a church and school, founding a community they called Mount Joy. Around 1870, Dr. Sansom donated two acres for a cemetery; its oldest marked graves date to 1873. The stones record area pioneers, several Confederate veterans, and a sobering number of infants whose short lives testify to the hardships of frontier settlement.
McKenzie Cemetery
Groesbeck, TX
This burial ground lies in what was once McKenzie Prairie, named for Joseph S. McKenzie and his family, who settled here in 1853. Its oldest grave belongs to Elizabeth Etemon and her infant daughter, who died passing through in 1865; the McKenzies gave land for the burial and marked it with a sandstone stone that Elizabeth's grieving husband carved before continuing his journey. From that single act of kindness the one-acre plot grew into a community cemetery for the McKenzies, their neighbors, and their descendants.
Old Union Community
Old Union Community, TX
This Limestone County settlement began around 1847 on the land of Joseph and Hannah Ferguson, first called Ferguson Prairie and later mapped as Ivanhoe. When settlers organized a Union Church in 1877, the community took the church's name, and the one-room sanctuary doubled as schoolhouse and gathering place until a larger building rose in 1913. Classes ended in 1935, but the church still meets here and holds an annual June homecoming.