Webster-Mimosa Hall Cemetery
Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Virginia-born John Johnston Webster (1796-1854) brought his family to the Republic of Texas, petitioning for land on which to establish a home in 1842. In 1844 Webster's son-in-law, the Rev. George F. Heard, became the first person to be buried in the cemetery at Mimosa Hall Plantation. He was followed by Mrs. Mirriam (Brown) Webster. Other notable graves include those of the Rev. William Moore Steele and five Webster slaves or ex-slaves. Veterans of several wars also are interred here. The wall surrounding the oldest graves was constructed by plantation labor. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Virginia-born John Johnston Webster brought his family to the Republic of Texas in 1842 and petitioned for land to build a home. The cemetery at Mimosa Hall Plantation began in 1844 with the burial of Webster's son-in-law, and its graves include five of Webster's slaves or freed people alongside family members and veterans of several wars. The wall surrounding the oldest graves was built by plantation labor.
Why it matters
It records both the planter families of Republic-era East Texas and the enslaved people whose forced labor sustained the plantation, buried in the same ground.
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Related people
- ยท John Johnston Webster
- ยท George F. Heard
- ยท William Moore Steele
Themes & tags
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