Lollar Cemetery
Athens, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
THE FIRST DOCUMENTED BURIAL AT THIS SITE WAS THE 1867 INTERMENT OF SAMUEL AND ELIZABETH PARTIN’S INFANT SON, JOHN S. PARTIN. AT THE TIME OF THE CEMETERY’S INITIAL USE, THE PROPERTY WAS OWNED BY ASA DALTON. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE CEMETERY WAS NAMED AFTER JOHN LOLLAR, A NEIGHBOR WHOSE PROPERTY WAS SITUATED JUST ACROSS THE VAN ZANDT COUNTY LINE, ALTHOUGH WHETHER HE IS BURIED HERE IS UNKNOWN. ADDITIONAL FAMILIES REPRESENTED IN THE CEMETERY INCLUDE FANCHER, BRANNAN, DRIVER, AND LEWIS. THE CEMETERY WAS USED BY AREA FAMILIES FOR MORE THAN SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS; THE LAST BURIAL, OF ELI LOLLAR FANCHER, OCCURRED IN 1944.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The first recorded burial at Lollar Cemetery was the 1867 interment of John S. Partin, infant son of Samuel and Elizabeth Partin, on land then owned by Asa Dalton. The cemetery is thought to be named for neighbor John Lollar, whose farm lay just across the Van Zandt County line, though whether he rests here is unknown. Serving families such as the Fanchers, Brannans, Drivers, and Lewises for more than seventy-five years, it received its last burial—Eli Lollar Fancher—in 1944.
Why it matters
Rural cemeteries like Lollar map the web of families who farmed the East Texas countryside from Reconstruction into the twentieth century.
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Related people
- · Samuel Partin
- · Elizabeth Partin
- · John Lollar
Themes & tags
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