Patroon Cemetery
Center, Shelby County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Settlers began moving to the Patroon area by the 1830s. Tennessee natives William and Elviry Nethery brought their family to this area from Alabama in the early 1840s. Their son A.M. established this cemetery on his own property when he and his wife, M.H. "Leany," buried their first son, John (1858-1861). While A.M. was serving in the Civil War, Leany and baby daughter Rachel died from fever and were buried here in 1862. A nanny cared for their son Charley until his father's return. A.M., his second wife, and other Nethery children are also interred in the cemetery, which became a community burial ground. The Patroon post office was established in 1868. The community also supported businesses, as well as Methodist and Baptist congregations. Among the generations of area residents buried here are community and church leaders, postmasters, school trustees, artists, farmers and veterans of American conflicts beginning with the Civil War. The cemetery features east-facing graves, including some marked by vertical stones. Today, a cemetery association maintains the burial ground as a perpetual care cemetery. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settlers reached the Patroon area of Shelby County by the 1830s, among them the Nethery family, who came from Alabama in the early 1840s. Their son A.M. began this cemetery on his own land when he buried his infant son John in 1861; while he served in the Civil War, his wife and baby daughter died of fever and were buried here in 1862. Around the growing burial ground rose a community with a post office, churches, and businesses, and generations of residents — leaders, farmers, and veterans reaching back to the Civil War — now rest here.
Why it matters
The cemetery's earliest graves put a human face on the hardships of frontier settlement and the toll of the Civil War on ordinary East Texas families.
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Related people
- · William Nethery
- · Elviry Nethery
- · A.M. Nethery
Themes & tags
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