Vittitoe Cemetery
Whitewright, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This graveyard was begun as a family burial plot by Samuel and Ellen Vittitoe, who settled on land surrounding this site in 1852. Their son, Frank, probably was the first to be buried here sometime before the outbreak of the Civil War, although his headstone is undated. The Vittitoes made it known to the residents of Kentucky Town (1 mi. N) that their plot was open for burials outside the family, but the cemetery was not used as a public burial ground until it was legally established as such in 1885. More than 700 graves have been recorded in the Vittitoe Cemetery. Most of them bear tombstones with legible inscriptions, but others are marked only by stakes or pieces of stone or rock. Included among those buried here are early settlers such as Andrew Thomas, who brought his family to the area in 1837; numerous Civil War veterans; the Rev. Isaac Teague, pastor of the Kentucky Town Baptist Church during the early 1900s; and Benjamin Earnest, who helped establish a general store soon after settling in Kentucky Town in 1859. Vittitoe Cemetery, which is cared for by the Vittitoe Cemetery Association, is an important reminder of the early history of this part of Grayson County.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Begun in 1852 as the family plot of Samuel and Ellen Vittitoe on land near Kentucky Town, this Grayson County burial ground grew into a public cemetery formally established in 1885. More than 700 graves record the community's early life, from settlers who arrived in the 1830s to Civil War veterans and local pastors and merchants. Many stones bear legible inscriptions while others are marked only by stakes or fieldstones.
Why it matters
A pioneer graveyard like this preserves the names and hardships of the ordinary families who settled North Texas, turning a family plot into a lasting record of a whole frontier community.
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Related people
- · Samuel Vittitoe
- · Ellen Vittitoe
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Whitewright, TX
First settled in the 1830s as Annaliza, this Grayson County community was renamed by Kentucky emigrants in 1858 and laid out in an unusual pattern meant to guard against raids on the frontier. A stop on freight and stage routes, it became a cradle of "Sacred Harp" shape-note singing and, during the Civil War, a rendezvous for the notorious Quantrill guerrilla band. Its layered history packs settlement, culture, and wartime lawlessness into one small crossroads.
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