Whitaker Cemetery
Gunter, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Pioneers in the Clayton school-house community began using this site on J. W. Whitaker's farm as a burial ground in 1866, with the interment of Joseph McLean. The settlers, who were farmers and ranchers from Mississippi and other southern states, bought this cemetery in 1880 and continued to use it as a burial ground. In 1967 descendants of the pioneer settlers formed the Whitaker Cemetery Association to provide for the maintenance of the gravesites. The organization sponsors an annual memorial service the third Sunday in May.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Grayson County burial ground began in 1866 on J. W. Whitaker's farm with the interment of Joseph McLean, serving the Clayton schoolhouse community. Its settlers — farmers and ranchers who had come from Mississippi and other southern states — formally bought the cemetery in 1880 and kept burying their dead there. In 1967 their descendants founded an association that still tends the graves and holds a memorial service each May.
Why it matters
Pioneer cemeteries preserve the migration of Southern families onto the Texas prairie and the enduring ties of descendants to the land their forebears settled.
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Related people
- · J. W. Whitaker
- · Joseph McLean
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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William Whitley Wheat
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