Lightfoot-Miller Cemetery
Athens, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Located on private property, this small, family cemetery serves as the final resting place for the Garner, Howard, Lightfoot, Miller, Nugent and Stone families. James Wilburn Miller, a Civil War Veteran, was born October 23, 1816 in Tennessee. Miller and his wife, Frances Victoria Oliver (1823-1861), moved to Henderson County in 1851 where he participated in county affairs and received a land patent. Frances Victoria died while miller served in the Civil War. Miller, an early pioneer, died in 1900 and is buried here. Miller’s son, Robert W. Miller (b.1849), is buried here along with his son, Isadore miller (1888-1918), who died in action during World War I. Caleb Benjamin Lightfoot was born February 24, 1819 in Missouri and started a family. In 1863, Caleb and his second wife, Sarah J. Lightfoot (1834-1879), moved from Arkansas to Henderson County where he participated in civic affairs and endured many hardships of early pioneer life. Sarah was the first burial in this cemetery in 1879. Children of Caleb and Sarah are buried here, as well as Caleb’s mother, Nancy Lightfoot (1780-1880). Caleb then married Elizabeth “Elizer” Jane Pharris (d. 1890). Two of their sons are buried here along with Elizer. Caleb Lightfoot died on march 20, 1894 and was buried alongside his family. A D.R.F. headstone is displayed on the grave of Mary Garner, and history states that iron ore rocks mark several Indian burials. Abandoned after the burial of Mollie Miller in 1930, this small cemetery on a hill by the lake was recently restored. The Lightfoot-Miller cemetery is a reminder of the difficulties and hardships of early Texas and the commitment to family and community.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On a hill above the water, this family cemetery holds generations of Henderson County pioneers who arrived in the 1850s and 1860s to endure the hardships of early Texas life. Among them lie James Wilburn Miller, a Tennessee-born Civil War veteran, and his grandson Isadore, killed in action in World War I. Iron-ore rocks are said to mark several Indian graves, and the long-neglected burial ground was recently restored.
Why it matters
Small family graveyards like this one are the quiet archives of frontier settlement, holding pioneers, soldiers, and the earlier Indigenous dead in a single patch of Texas ground.
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Related people
- · James Wilburn Miller
- · Caleb Benjamin Lightfoot
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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