Sansom/Wedgman Cemetery
Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Located on a tributary of the Navasota River known as Running Branch, this cemetery has been in use since the days of Reconstruction in Texas. Soon after the end of the Civil War, a group of settlers, including Dr. J. L. Sansom, P. K. Mckenzie, and Allen Goodwin, came to this area from Mississippi and built a church and school. The community came to be called Mount Joy. Dr. Sansom donated two acres of his land for this cemetery about 1870. By 1877, Sansom had sold part of his acreage to H. Wageman (later spelled Wedgman). Land for a right-of-way and cemetery parking was deeded from Wageman's land in 1929. The oldest marked graves in the cemetery are dated 1873. Dr. Sansom is buried here, as is J. W. Seale, who served as postmaster of the nearby settlement of Seale. Tombstones bear the names of many other area pioneers and several Confederate veterans. The number of infants buried here during the latter years of the nineteenth century reflects the hardship of pioneer life. Although most of the early settlements are gone, the Sansom/Wedgman Cemetery remains in use and is cared for by descendants of the pioneers. 1985
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Soon after the Civil War, a group of settlers from Mississippi — among them Dr. J. L. Sansom, P. K. McKenzie, and Allen Goodwin — came to this creekside spot on a tributary of the Navasota River and built a church and school, founding a community they called Mount Joy. Around 1870, Dr. Sansom donated two acres for a cemetery; its oldest marked graves date to 1873. The stones record area pioneers, several Confederate veterans, and a sobering number of infants whose short lives testify to the hardships of frontier settlement.
Why it matters
The burial ground preserves the story of a Reconstruction-era migration from the defeated South into Texas, a movement that repopulated the frontier and reshaped its communities.
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Related people
- · Dr. J. L. Sansom
- · H. Wageman
Themes & tags
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