Stokes-Nelson Cemetery
Temple vicinity, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Standing as a reminder of Bell County's pioneer heritage, this small family cemetery is representative of many similar graveyards in Texas. Peter and Mary Isabella Stokes came to this area from Virginia in the late 1850s, along with their children and Mrs. Stokes' parents, Nathaniel Bacon and Mary Speed Nelson. This family graveyard was begun on the Stokes farm in 1858 with the burial of a relative, Robert Venable. Among the ten graves here are those of Peter and Mary Stokes and N.B. and Mary Nelson. The cemetery was restored in the 1980s.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Peter and Mary Isabella Stokes came to Bell County from Virginia in the late 1850s with their children and Mrs. Stokes's parents, Nathaniel and Mary Nelson. Begun in 1858 with the burial of a relative, this small graveyard on the Stokes farm holds about ten graves, including those of both couples. Restored in the 1980s, it stands as a quiet emblem of the county's pioneer beginnings.
Why it matters
Family graveyards like this one preserve the intimate scale of frontier settlement, when a farm, a family, and its burial plot were a community in miniature.
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Related people
- · Peter Stokes
- · Mary Isabella Stokes
- · Nathaniel Bacon Nelson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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