Old Palestine Cemetery
Alto, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Henry and Helena (Dill) Berryman deeded four acres of land at this site to trustees of the Old Palestine Baptist Church in 1853. Seven years later Helena, by then a widow, gave an additional two acres on which a schoolhouse and community graveyard already were in existence. Many early graves are undocumented, but records indicate stones once marked interments that occurred as early as 1861. Among the pioneer settlers interred here are James and Martha Boyd, their son Benjamin, daughter Martha Donegan, and infant granddaughter Lara Donegan, all of whom died in 1862. Enlarged in later years with additional land donations, the cemetery stands as a reminder of the area's pioneer heritage. (2001)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1853, Henry and Helena Berryman deeded four acres here to trustees of the Old Palestine Baptist Church, and Helena later added land where a schoolhouse and graveyard already stood. Many early graves went unrecorded, but stones marked burials as far back as 1861, including several members of the Boyd and Donegan families who died in 1862. Expanded over the years, the cemetery endures as a record of the area's pioneer families.
Why it matters
Rural burying grounds like this one preserve the everyday settlers whose names rarely reach the history books but who built frontier Texas community by community.
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Related people
- · Henry Berryman
- · Helena Berryman
Themes & tags
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