Old Rock Hill Cemetery
Brownsboro, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first known burial in this cemetery, that of Thomas Clark, dates to 1851. He was buried on land that was public domain until 1857 when A. J. Laymance was awarded title to a tract of land of more than 292 acres. The Old Rock Hill Cemetery consists of nearly an acre of land and lies in the southeast corner of the Laymance survey. Many of the early settlers along the Horn Branch and the Kickapoo Creek watersheds are buried here. Martin Horn, for whom Horn Branch is named, and his wife Minda are buried here. Although there are 80 documented burials, several grave markers have become illegible. Among those buried here are John Lindsey, veteran of the War of 1812 and a Cherokee County commissioner, and Civil War veterans Hassell Chandler, John Boatman, and Jacob R. Laymance. The last burial to occur here was in 1913 upon the death of Era Tindel. When roads to this site became impassable during bad weather, a new cemetery was established nearby and named the New Rock Hill Cemetery. In 1983 the Old Rock Hill Cemetery was deeded to the Rock Hill Cemetery Association, which owns and maintains both sites.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The oldest grave in Old Rock Hill Cemetery is that of Thomas Clark, buried in 1851 on land still in the public domain, six years before A. J. Laymance received title to the surrounding survey. Here rest many of the pioneer families of the Horn Branch and Kickapoo Creek country, including namesake Martin Horn, a War of 1812 veteran and county commissioner, and Civil War soldiers. After bad-weather roads made the site unreachable, a new cemetery was opened nearby, and the last burial here came in 1913.
Why it matters
A pioneer burial ground like this one is a durable record of the ordinary settlers, and the veterans among them, who built East Texas across several generations.
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Related people
- · Thomas Clark
- · A. J. Laymance
- · Martin Horn
- · John Lindsey
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Leagueville Cemetery
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The Leagueville community grew from the Aaron York survey, and tradition holds its cemetery began beside an early schoolhouse on land donated by B.T. and Annie Roberts. That pioneer schoolhouse also hosted worship, and in 1880 the congregation that became Leagueville Baptist Church organized there. The oldest marked grave, that of Alabama native Jacob Colvin, dates to 1863, and pioneer families like the Reagans, Adairs, and Colvins rest among many unmarked early burials.
Frontier Red Hill Cemetery
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The first burial here was nineteen-year-old Elizabeth Carolina Piles in May 1856, followed within days by her sister, on land owned by their father. Among the roughly 188 graves lie six Confederate veterans of the Civil War. Four acres were set aside for the cemetery in 1886 and doubled by a later gift, and an association tends the grounds today.
Fincastle
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Fincastle grew up in the early 1850s as one of Henderson County's first settlements, when the area bustled with new plantations and farms. John Tindel bought more than a thousand acres in 1851 and platted the townsite, drawing farmers, tradesmen, and professionals. The town saw brisk activity during the Civil War as Captain William H. "Howdy" Martin raised troops and a Confederate commissary operated here, but by around 1900 most residents had drifted to the county seat at Athens, leaving a church, a pioneer cemetery, and Tindel's home as its only remnants.
Smith Cemetery
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