Upper Yorktown Cemetery
Yorktown, DeWitt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Upper Yorktown Cemetery In 1872, Ann Friar (1802-1899) formally established Upper Yorktown (Friar) Cemetery, where her husband, rancher-businessman Daniel Boone Friar (1800-1858), local masons and others were interred. In 1949, Barbara Respondek (1882-1949) donated one acre to the east for African-American residents, adding to its diverse Anglo, German and Hispanic origins. Noted burials include: Friar family members; 1876 feud victims Dr. Philip Brassell (b. 1827) and son, George (b.1855); settlers Gotlieb (1790-1867) and Marie (1790-1869) Heissig; Union sailor Timothy Sullivan (1836-1909); and numerous war veterans and local pioneers. Historic Texas Cemetery-2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ann Friar formally established this cemetery in 1872, burying her rancher husband, local Masons, and others on the family's ground. Its rolls read like a cross-section of frontier Texas — Anglo, German, and Hispanic settlers, victims of an 1876 feud, a Union sailor, and war veterans — and in 1949 an added acre made room for the community's African American residents.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the layered, sometimes segregated makeup of a South Texas settlement, where feud violence, immigration, and race all left their marks in the same ground.
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Related people
- · Ann Friar
- · Daniel Boone Friar
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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