Jonathan Anderson
Carthage, Panola County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Kentucky native Jonathan "Old Shelby" Anderson, a grandson of American Revolution veteran Bailey Anderson, settled in this area when Texas was part of Mexico. He served in the Texas Revolution and fought at the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1848 he donated 100 acres here for the formation of Carthage, the new seat of government for Panola County, which was organized two years earlier from Shelby County. He later served as sheriff and tax assessor-collector. This park, the site of the former Carthage courthouse square, was named for Anderson in 1956.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Kentucky-born Jonathan "Old Shelby" Anderson came to this region while Texas was still Mexican territory, then took up arms in the Texas Revolution and fought at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. In 1848 he gave 100 acres to establish Carthage as the seat of the newly organized Panola County, and later served as sheriff and tax assessor-collector. The park on the old courthouse square was named in his honor in 1956.
Why it matters
Anderson's life links the fight for Texas independence to the practical work of building the county governments and towns that turned a frontier republic into a settled state.
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Related people
- · Jonathan Anderson
- · Bailey Anderson
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
- · Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Anderson Cemetery
Carthage, TX
On a tree-shaded hill southeast of Carthage lies the burial place of many of Panola County's founding settlers, named for Jonathan Anderson (1798–1890), who donated 100 acres for the town itself. A veteran of the Texas Revolution who fought at the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto, Anderson went on to serve as county sheriff. His first wife, Nancy Whetmore, was the first laid to rest here, followed by veterans of the Civil War and both World Wars.
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James Rowe came to the Mexican frontier of Texas from North Carolina and took up arms in the 1836 revolution that won Texas its independence. A prosperous tanner, he helped organize newly created Panola County in 1846, served a term in the young state's legislature, and donated the ground where this cemetery now stands. His story is a compact portrait of the settler-soldiers who turned a contested borderland into an American state.
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The oldest grave here belongs to J. W. Hall, buried in 1844 beneath a large rock before John W. Kuykendall formally donated the first two acres in 1852. Maintained by a cemetery association since 1882, the grounds have grown through later gifts of land. Those laid to rest include the area's early settlers and county leaders alongside veterans of the Mexican War, Civil War, both World Wars, and Vietnam.
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