Rossville Cemetery
Rossville, Atascosa County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Texas statesman Jose Antonio Navarro (1795-1871) transferred land here along the Atascosa River to his eldest son Jose Antonio George Navarro. J.A.G. Navarro (b.1819) then gave 160 acres here to his daughter Maria Antonia Navarro (1845-1922) in 1870, on the occasion of her marriage in San Antonio to Scotsman John C. Ross (1839-1925). One acre at this site was reserved for a cemetery. Ross and his brother William subsequently founded the community of Rossville here after 1873. The first burial was that of Juana Chaves Navarro (1820-1874), wife of J.A.G. Navarro. Other pioneers who lived in this area before the founding of Rossville are buried here. Their family names include Alvarez, Bergara, Castanon, Cruz, Galindo, Gonzales, Tabberer, Tober, Riojas, and Stokes. Confederate veteran Clemente Galindo (1844-1881) and his wife Martha Goins Galindo (1845-1903) are buried here along with many of their descendants. By the 1920s the road to the graveyard was often impassable, so John Ross was buried in the family plot at the Episcopal Church Cemetery (1 mi. E). His wife Maria Antonia is buried here, near their home site. Other Navarro, Chaves, and Ross descendants are also buried here, including Texas Ranger Captain Tom Ross (1871-1946), son of John and Maria Antonia Ross. (1986) Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This burial ground traces to Texas statesman José Antonio Navarro, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, whose descendants held land along the Atascosa River. In 1870 his granddaughter Maria Antonia married Scotsman John C. Ross, and the couple's family founded the nearby community of Rossville. The graves here hold Navarro kin and a roll of Tejano and pioneer families—Alvarez, Galindo, Riojas, and others—who settled this stretch of South Texas.
Why it matters
The cemetery ties one of the founding figures of Texas independence to the enduring Tejano communities of South Texas, weaving Hispanic heritage into the state's origin story.
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Related people
- · José Antonio Navarro
- · John C. Ross
- · Maria Antonia Navarro Ross
- · Tom Ross
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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