Thomas Easter Cemetery
Southlake, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Virginia native Thomas Easter, born about 1823, migrated to Texas and settled in Tarrant County by 1848. Easter patented a 640-acre tract of land in the northeast corner of the county. A portion of this land was used as a cemetery upon his death in 1862. His wife Charity Easter, born about 1820, was buried here in the early 1880s. Another known burial is that of early settler Hardin West (b. 1809), who died on March 10, 1881. The Cemetery contains several unmarked graves. The Easter Schoolhouse stood beside the burial ground during the 19th Century. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Virginia-born Thomas Easter reached Tarrant County by 1848 and patented a 640-acre tract in the county's northeast corner. When he died in 1862, a portion of that land became a family and community burial ground, where his wife Charity and neighboring pioneers such as Hardin West were later laid to rest among several unmarked graves. A one-room schoolhouse once stood beside the cemetery, tying the burial ground to the small farming settlement that grew up around it.
Why it matters
Small family cemeteries like this are the quiet ledger of frontier North Texas, recording the ordinary settlers who patented the land and put down the first roots.
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Related people
- · Thomas Easter
- · Charity Easter
- · Hardin West
Themes & tags
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