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Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

Moore Cemetery

Trinity County, Trinity County, Texas

Marker Inscription

South Carolina native John W. Moore (1810-1898), his wife Rosella Meredith (1811-1878), and their family migrated to East Texas in the 1850s. From their initial 320-acre land grant on Mossy Creek, the Moores donated nearly six acres of land for a community cemetery. The earliest recorded burial was that of Sidney Craddock in 1860. Among the first burials in the Moore Cemetery were those of Preston W. Moore and William Moore. It is believed that these brothers, sons of John and Rosella Moore, were hanged for refusing to become Confederate soldiers in the Civil War, and are buried here. Trinity County citizens were strongly in favor of the Confederate cause, and many of the County's young men had marched off to serve the Confederacy. Many infant burials in this cemetery are the result of disease epidemics occurring in surrounding communities. Although more than 120 graves are recorded here, many unmarked graves also exist. Among the burials are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Maintained by the Moore Cemetery Association, the graveyard continues to serve Groveton and the surrounding communities.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

South Carolina natives John W. Moore and his wife Rosella Meredith brought their family to East Texas in the 1850s and donated nearly six acres of their Mossy Creek land grant for a community cemetery, with the earliest recorded burial in 1860. Among the first laid to rest were sons Preston and William Moore, believed by family tradition to have been hanged for refusing to fight for the Confederacy in a county fiercely loyal to the Southern cause. Alongside many infant graves from disease epidemics lie veterans of the Civil War and every major American war through Vietnam.

Why it matters

Moore Cemetery preserves the wrenching divisions of the Civil War home front, where Union sympathy in Confederate country could cost a young man his life.

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Related people

  • · John W. Moore
  • · Rosella Meredith
  • · Preston W. Moore
  • · William Moore
  • · Sidney Craddock

Related events

  • · American Civil War

Themes & tags

Civil WarMemorial

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