Furneaux Cemetery
Carrollton, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
William Furneaux, a native of England, came to Texas in 1857 and married Fanny Jackson (d. 1917), whose family had come to Texas in 1848 as part of the Peters Colony. This cemetery was established in 1884, when Furneaux died and was buried on a section of his farm he had indicated should become a public graveyard. Seven-year-old Peter Husky died soon after and was buried near Furneaux. Although three graves bear earlier dates, they were moved here from other cemeteries. With establishment of the cemetery, Peter Husky's father, William, donated part of his land for use as a church site. A public meeting was then held to discuss plans for laying out plots and building a sanctuary. A cemetery association was chartered in 1888, and the graveyard officially became known as Furneaux Cemetery. Charter directors chosen were Joseph Morgan, W. R. Dudley, John Jackson, V. S. Dudley, and J. H. Furneaux. Originally surrounded by extensive farmland, the church and cemetery sites became known as Cemetery Hill. When a 1924 tornado destroyed the frame church building, the cemetery association acquired the land. The Furneaux Cemetery is the burial place for many area pioneers and their descendants. (1984)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Furneaux Cemetery began in 1884 when English immigrant William Furneaux, who had come to Texas in 1857 and married into a Peters Colony family, was buried on farmland he had set aside as a public graveyard. A neighbor soon donated adjoining land for a church, a cemetery association was chartered in 1888, and the surrounding heights became known as Cemetery Hill. When a 1924 tornado destroyed the frame church, the association took over the grounds.
Why it matters
Rural cemeteries like this one preserve the names and kinship ties of the pioneer families who settled North Texas under the Peters Colony land grants.
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Related people
- · William Furneaux
- · Fanny Jackson Furneaux
Related events
- · Peters Colony settlement
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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In 1841 the Republic of Texas granted W. S. Peters and his partners an empresario contract to plant hundreds of colonist families across this stretch of the frontier, promising each a cabin, seed, and hundreds of free acres. Despite internal upheavals and settlers' resentment over the company's land share — which boiled over into the 1852 "Hedgcoxe War" that drove out the company agent — some 1,800 colonists had arrived by 1848. The colony's reach eventually spread over five counties encompassing what became one of the state's largest metropolitan regions.
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