Teel Cemetery
Saratoga, Hardin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Alabama native Richard Teel (1833-1918) came to East Texas in the 1850s. He married Nancy A. Hart (1842-1900) in 1858 and they settled here. When the Teels' son, D. J., died in 1893, he was buried here beside the family home. In 1908, after other burials had taken place, Teel legally designated the site a cemetery. The more than sixty graves in the historic cemetery include those of Richard and Nancy Teel, as well as other relatives, friends, and neighbors. Now located in the Big Thicket National Preserve, the cemetery is a tangible reminder of the area's early permanent settlers.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Alabama-born Richard Teel reached East Texas in the 1850s, married Nancy Hart, and settled in what is now the Big Thicket. When their son died in 1893 he was buried beside the family home, and in 1908 Teel formally set the ground aside as a cemetery. Its sixty-odd graves gather the Teels with the relatives, friends, and neighbors who were the area's first permanent settlers.
Why it matters
A family burial ground turned community cemetery preserves the memory of the pioneers who first put down roots in the dense wilds of the Big Thicket.
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Related people
- · Richard Teel
- · Nancy A. Hart Teel
Themes & tags
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