Roberts Cemetery
Hockley, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Abraham (Abram) Roberts (1773-1850), a member of Stephen F. Austin's Colony, came to Texas in the late 1820s with his children, naming the area in which he settled New Kentucky. By the 1840s the area was known as the Spring Creek community and was settled by German immigrants. The first burial on this site is thought to have been that of Abraham Roberts. Though it is uncertain when the Roberts land began to be used for community burials, the earliest was probably that of infant Mary Schultz, who was born and died in 1858. The oldest surviving headstone is that of her young mother, Elizabeth M. Schultz, who died in 1859. Other notable graves include that of Abraham Roberts' son George (1811-1874) and those of the Montgomery family. A separate burial ground nearby is thought to have been given to the slaves of the Montgomery plantation by Abraham Roberts. C. A. Montgomery, who acquired the land from Abraham Roberts, deeded 202 acres to Henry Klabe (Kleb) in 1887, reserving two acres as the Roberts graveyard. The two-acre tract, often called "The Old Roberts Burial Ground," and an additional acre were deeded to the community for continued use in 1919. A 1997 count revealed 258 marked and 15 unmarked graves in the cemetery. Cared for by family members until the Roberts Cemetery Association was formed in 1971, the graveyard continues to serve the community. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Abraham Roberts, a member of Stephen F. Austin's Colony, came to Texas in the late 1820s and named his settlement New Kentucky; by the 1840s it had become the German-settled Spring Creek community. His own burial around 1850 is thought to be the first here, and the ground grew into a community cemetery holding the Roberts, Schultz, and Montgomery families. A nearby separate burial ground is believed to have been set aside for enslaved people of the Montgomery plantation, and the graveyard remains in use today.
Why it matters
The cemetery layers together the Anglo settlers of Austin's Colony, later German immigrants, and enslaved African Americans — the intertwined peoples who built early Texas.
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Related people
- · Abraham Roberts
- · C. A. Montgomery
- · Henry Klabe (Kleb)
Related events
- · Stephen F. Austin's Colony
Themes & tags
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