Green Dewitt Cemetery
Gonzales, Gonzales County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Green Dewitt Cemetery Green (1787-1835) and Sarah (Seely) (1789-1854) Dewitt moved their family from Missouri to Texas in 1826 after he successfully petitioned the Mexican government for an Empresario Grant to settle 400 Anglo-Americans on lands southwest of Stephen F. Austin's colony. In 1831, Sarah received a separate grant, the Sarah Seely League, from which this acre was set aside for a family cemetery. The grave of Sarah, known for her "come and take it" flag as the fight for Texas Independence began, stands near a memorial for her husband, who is laid to rest in Mexico. The first known burial here is their grandson, Jonas Dewitt (1850-1851). Historic Texas Cemetery-2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Green and Sarah DeWitt left Missouri for Texas in 1826 after Green won an empresario grant to settle 400 Anglo-American families southwest of Stephen F. Austin's colony. Sarah earned her own land grant, the Sarah Seely League, in 1831, and set aside this acre as a family burying ground. She is remembered for the defiant "come and take it" flag raised as the fight for Texas independence began, while her husband lies buried in Mexico.
Why it matters
The cemetery anchors the story of Mexican-era Anglo colonization and the women, like Sarah DeWitt, whose defiance helped spark the Texas Revolution.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Green DeWitt
- · Sarah Seely DeWitt
- · Jonas Dewitt
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · DeWitt Empresario Colony
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Sarah Creath McSherry Hibbens Stinnett Howard
Shiner, TX
This marker remembers Sarah Howard, who came to Texas from Illinois with her first husband in 1828 and endured extraordinary hardship on the frontier. Over the following decade she lost husbands and family to frontier violence, survived captivity, and escaped to raise her surviving son, marrying four times before settling with Col. Phillip Howard in Gonzales in 1839. Her repeated survival became emblematic of the endurance demanded of pioneer women on the early Texas frontier.
Sarah Seely Dewitt
Gonzales, TX
Sarah Seely DeWitt came to Texas in 1826 with her husband Green DeWitt, the empresario who colonized the Gonzales area, and their five children. When Mexican troops demanded the colonists' cannon in 1835, Sarah and her daughter Evaline sewed the defiant "Come and Take It" banner flown at the Battle of Gonzales — the first battle flag of the Texas Revolution. She is buried on the DeWitt land that bears her name.
Gonzales Cannon
Gonzales, TX
Here on September 29, 1835, Mexican troops arrived to reclaim a small cannon the government had lent the colonists of Gonzales for defense against raids. The Texians stalled for two days while reinforcements gathered, then flung back their famous answer — "Come and Take It." The standoff over that little gun helped ignite the Texas Revolution.
Campsite Marking Start of San Jacinto Campaign
Gonzales, TX
In March 1836, as the Texas Revolution reached its most desperate hour, Sam Houston reached Gonzales to muster a second volunteer army. Word arrived here of the fall of the Alamo and of Santa Anna's advance, and Houston ordered the town put to the torch before withdrawing eastward. That long, calculated retreat set the stage for the decisive Texian victory at San Jacinto on April 21.