Perryman Cemetery
Forestburg, Montague County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first marked grave in this burial ground is than of an infant who died in 1862. Other burials include those of a Mr. Jones, a well-digger killed by indians in 1863, and Dory Booher and Ben Steadham, former Confederate soldiers who had been captured at Lookout Mountain, Tenn. during the Civil War. In 1883 the cemetery was purchased by Levi Perryman (1839-1921) and deeded to Montague County. A Forestburg community leader, Perryman had been a Confederate soldier, an indian fighter, and sheriff. Still used, this cemetery serves as a reminder of the area's pioneers. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The oldest marked grave in this Montague County burial ground belongs to an infant who died in 1862, and its early plots read like a chronicle of frontier hardship: a well-digger killed in an 1863 Indian raid, and two former Confederate soldiers who had been captured at Lookout Mountain. In 1883 Levi Perryman — himself a Confederate veteran, Indian fighter, and sheriff — bought the site and deeded it to the county. Still in use, the cemetery keeps the memory of the district's pioneers.
Why it matters
The graves gather in one place the overlapping struggles of the North Texas frontier — the Civil War, conflict with Native peoples, and the daily dangers of pioneer settlement.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the early 1860s, Montague County sat at the raw northern edge of Texas settlement, close to the Red River and to lands that Comanche and Kiowa people had long used and defended. Settlers were few and scattered, and their farms were far apart. Simple jobs like digging a well, hauling water or tending stock could be dangerous.
The Civil War made the frontier more dangerous still. When men and federal troops left for the war, defending outlying counties fell mostly to local and state forces stretched very thin. North Texas families lived through years of raids, retaliation and fear, all while the larger war went on far to the east.
When the fighting ended, the frontier stayed unsettled for some time. Life in places like Forestburg gradually became more stable only as the region's conflicts drew to a close in the 1870s and the settlements grew and organized.
People & events
The earliest marked grave here belongs to an infant who died in 1862. Its occupant has no name on the marker, but that small grave says a great deal about frontier life, when the loss of children was a common sorrow. Nearby lies a Mr. Jones, a well-digger killed by Indians in 1863. He was a working man who died doing the hard, essential labor that made a homestead possible.
Two other graves point back to the Civil War. Dory Booher and Ben Steadham were Confederate soldiers captured at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, hundreds of miles from home. They lived through capture and came to rest in this North Texas ground. The marker leaves the rest of their lives untold, and the gaps are a reminder of how many ordinary soldiers' stories went unrecorded.
In 1883 Levi Perryman (1839-1921) bought the burial ground and deeded it to Montague County, making sure it would last. His own life followed the region's history: Confederate soldier, Indian fighter, sheriff and Forestburg community leader. The cemetery that bears his name is still in use today.
Its place in the American story
Two stories that Americans often tell separately meet in this one burial ground. One is the Civil War, the nation's great crisis. The other is the long conflict over the western frontier. In North Texas they happened at the same time and to the same people, and graves like these show how closely they were tied.
The mention of Lookout Mountain connects a small Texas cemetery to the 1863 fighting around Chattanooga. That campaign was a major Union success that opened a route into the Deep South. Soldiers from remote counties like Montague fought in those faraway battles, and the ones who survived brought their experiences home to the frontier.
Cemeteries like this also show how pioneer communities chose to remember. When Perryman deeded the ground to the county, a private burial plot became public memory. Countless small American communities did the same thing as they put down roots.
If you visit
Expect a quiet rural cemetery in a living community. It is still in active use, so walk with care and respect and be mindful of families who may be visiting. Look for the oldest stones, which are often weathered or simple, and think about the people they mark: an infant, a laborer and soldiers far from where they were captured.
Not every early grave may be clearly marked or easy to read. Take your time, and keep the marker's stories in mind as you walk instead of expecting a label on every plot.
Forestburg is in the rolling country of Montague County, and the drive there gives you a feel for how isolated the early settlements were. This makes a reflective stop on a trip through the North Texas frontier region near the Red River.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Levi Perryman
Related events
- · Civil War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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