Welch Cemetery
Henderson, Rusk County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first gave at this site was that of Georgia native Anna Welch (1804-1877), who selected the hillside for her own burial. It was used as a family cemetery from that date. The property was owned by her son Andrew Jackson "Jack" Welch (1825-1899), a veteran of the Civil War. In 1898 the original two-acre tract was formally designated a family cemetery in the will of A. J. Welch and his wife Nancy Ann. It was enlarged to 2.49 acres in 1969 by their grandson A. V. "Vernon" Welch. Pioneer settlers and veterans of four wars are buried here.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Georgia-born Anna Welch chose this East Texas hillside for her own grave in 1877, she started a family burial ground that would gather generations of pioneers around her. Her son, Civil War veteran Andrew Jackson "Jack" Welch, owned the land, and in 1898 the family formally set aside the tract as a cemetery in his will. Enlarged by descendants into the twentieth century, it holds settlers and veterans of four wars.
Why it matters
Family cemeteries like this one map the arc of frontier Texas settlement, from antebellum pioneers through the Civil War generation and beyond.
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Related people
- · Anna Welch
- · Andrew Jackson "Jack" Welch
- · Nancy Ann Welch
- · A. V. "Vernon" Welch
Themes & tags
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