Jackson Cemetery
Maypearl, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
While moving to Oregon in 1852, North Carolina native and medical doctor Henry L. Jackson and his wife, Nancy Ann (Holland), were in route to visit her family in Burnet County, Texas. They made a stop at Fort Gates, in Coryell County, Texas, an area prone to Indian raids, and Jackson joined efforts to recover stolen property. During an expedition in 1853, Jackson learned of Nancy Ann’s death. Later that year, he moved to Ellis County, where he wed sixteen-year-old Mary Presley. Jackson had nine children from each marriage. In June 1856, Jackson received title to this property and established his homestead. The family began a cemetery here when Mary E., daughter of Henry and Mary, died January 23, 1864; hers is the first marked grave. Neither of Jackson’s wives is buried here, where he is interred. He died December 19, 1880 at age 70, and his is the last marked grave. Large stones indicate several unmarked burials. The Jackson Cemetery and surrounding property have remained in the family for five generations. It now serves as a link to the area’s early settlers. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Dr. Henry L. Jackson set out from North Carolina for Oregon in 1852 but, stopping in Texas to visit his wife's family, was drawn into frontier expeditions against raiders near Fort Gates before learning of her death. He resettled in Ellis County, remarried, and in 1856 took title to this land, where the family began a cemetery in 1864 with the burial of a young daughter. Jackson himself, who died in 1880, holds the last marked grave, and the property has stayed in the family for five generations.
Why it matters
The Jackson family's cemetery traces one migrant physician's turn from the Oregon Trail to the contested Texas frontier, binding a single family's story to the settlement of the state.
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Related people
- · Henry L. Jackson
Themes & tags
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