Pleasant Grove Cemetery
Princeton, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Malissa (Dodson) Sides became the first person to be buried on this site in March 1891. Believed to have been half Native American, Mrs. Sides and her Cherokee half sister Ellen Murphy survived the U. S. government relocation of the tribe during their youth. The pair came to Collin County from Indian Territory with Malissa's husband Henry L. Sides. In October 1891, charter Methodist church members Franklin J. and Nancy (Van Hues) Rominger donated an acre of land including Mrs. Sides' gravesite to the trustees of the Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to be used as a public burial ground. The Romingers, Henry Sides and Ellen Murphy are all interred in the cemetery, as are descendants of these and other pioneer families. For many years cemetery trustees raised funds and maintained the grounds through stew suppers and annual decoration days. A 1996 count revealed more than 1,000 graves, most with markers of some kind. The graves of 141 infants in the old north section bear witness to the harsh conditions of pioneer life; 7 Confederate and 52 other veterans of U. S. and international conflicts are interred here. Pleasant Grove Cemetery continues to serve the area. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Pleasant Grove Cemetery took its first burial in 1891 with Malissa Sides, believed to be half Native American and a survivor, with her Cherokee half-sister, of the U.S. government's removal of the tribe. The pair came to Collin County from Indian Territory, and later that year a Methodist family donated the land — including Mrs. Sides' grave — as a public burial ground. Among its thousand-plus graves lie 141 infants, testament to harsh pioneer life, alongside Confederate and other war veterans.
Why it matters
The cemetery joins two great currents of American history — the forced removal of the Cherokee and the settlement of the Texas frontier — in the life of a single family laid to rest here.
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Related people
- · Malissa Dodson Sides
- · Ellen Murphy
- · Henry L. Sides
- · Franklin J. Rominger
- · Nancy Van Hues Rominger
Related events
- · Cherokee removal
Themes & tags
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