Jemison Quarters Cemetery
Tennessee Colony, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1847, settlers from Tennessee and Alabama moved to this area, naming the community Tennessee Colony. Elbert S. Jemison, believed to have come from Alabama circa 1850, established a plantation in this vicinity. He served as a soldier during the Civil War and profited from cotton production on his plantation. There, he housed his slaves, as well as many from other states, renting their labor to area farms and operations like the nearby Confederate salt works. Following Emancipation in 1865, many freed slaves remained in Tennessee Colony, establishing a cemetery here. Tradition holds that the earliest burials are of slave owners and their slaves; the first marked grave dates to 1880. Several of the men and women buried in the cemetery had been born into slavery. Today, the burial ground, known as Jemison, Jimmison or Jimerson Quarters cemetery, is maintained by a cemetery association. It is the final resting place of generations of area African American residents, including veterans of major 20th century conflicts, and it remains a link to the history of more than a century's work toward freedom, equal rights, community and home. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settlers from Tennessee and Alabama founded Tennessee Colony in 1847, and around 1850 Elbert S. Jemison established a plantation here, working enslaved people on his own cotton fields and renting their labor to neighbors and the nearby Confederate salt works. After emancipation in 1865, many freed people stayed, establishing this cemetery where—by tradition—both former enslavers and the formerly enslaved lie buried. Generations of African American residents, including veterans of the twentieth century's wars, rest here still.
Why it matters
Jemison Quarters Cemetery holds the full arc from slavery through freedom in one Texas community, a burial ground linking bondage, emancipation, and more than a century of striving for home and equal rights.
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Related people
- · Elbert S. Jemison
Themes & tags
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