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Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

Grimes Cemetery

Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Grimes Cemetery Benjamin Franklin Grimes came to Cherokee County in 1852 with his parents, Isaac and Sara Wilkinson Grimes. In 1859, Benjamin married Mary Jane Wallace, and to this union were born ten children. For a living, he operated freight wagons. He also served in the Confederate army. On April 20, 1883, Grimes buried his daughter Cassandra Gabriella here on his family's land. Her grave was the first in what became the family cemetery; several of the other Grimes children, as well as Benjamin and Mary Jane, would later be interred here. Still in use, the cemetery has more than 80 graves, including those of 12 veterans. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Benjamin Franklin Grimes came to Cherokee County in 1852 with his parents, married Mary Jane Wallace in 1859, and raised ten children while running freight wagons and serving in the Confederate army. In 1883 he buried his daughter Cassandra Gabriella on the family's land, beginning what became the Grimes Cemetery. Still in use, it holds more than 80 graves, including those of a dozen veterans.

Why it matters

The family graveyard preserves the story of one pioneer household and the Confederate-era settlers who built rural Cherokee County.

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Related people

  • · Benjamin Franklin Grimes
  • · Mary Jane Wallace

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionCivil WarFrontier HistoryLandmark

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