Griffin-Methodist Cemetery
Liberty, Liberty County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Jackson Hawkins Griffin (1818-1864) came to Liberty in 1835. A member of the Liberty Volunteers during the Texas Revolution, he participated in the Siege of Bexar. His home near this site was often used as a boarding house for families new to the area. Jesse Daniel Lum (1775-1846) and his son, Jesse Daniel Lum, Jr. (1822-1900), rented rooms in Griffin's home soon after they arrived here from Louisiana in 1843. When the elder Lum died in 1846, Griffin provided space on his land for use as a burial site. From that time, the plot of land was known locally as Griffin Cemetery. Jackson Griffin enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1862 and was killed in the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, in 1864. His heirs sold his land to Dr. James P. Cooke (1836-1892), who in turn donated the cemetery property to the Liberty Methodist Church in 1881. Dr. Cooke was interred here in 1892, and the burial ground is also known as Cooke Memorial Cemetery. The Methodist church maintained the graveyard as a private burial ground until 1981, when a restoration program was undertaken which reopened the cemetery to public use. This historic cemetery serves as a reminder of Liberty's past. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Jackson Hawkins Griffin arrived in Liberty in 1835 and fought at the Siege of Bexar during the Texas Revolution, later opening his home as a boarding house for newcomers. When one of his lodgers died in 1846, Griffin set aside land for a burial ground that still bears his name. Griffin himself enlisted in the Confederate Army and fell at the Battle of Franklin in 1864, and the graveyard passed through Dr. James Cooke to the Methodist church before a 1981 restoration reopened it to the public.
Why it matters
The cemetery gathers into one plot the arc of a Texas frontier community — revolution, immigration, and the Civil War's reach into a small county town.
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Related people
- · Jackson Hawkins Griffin
- · Jesse Daniel Lum
- · Dr. James P. Cooke
Related events
- · Siege of Bexar
- · Battle of Franklin
Themes & tags
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