Wilson Chapel Cemetery
Newton, Newton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Wilson Chapel Cemetery (also known as Woods Cemetery or Irvine Cemetery) David McMahon (1806-1873), first Newton County attorney, is credited with the founding of Wilson Chapel. His grave is marked, as are three others: his brother, Rev. Friend McMahon (1810-1874), Methodist Minister and farmer; Josephus Somerville Irvine (1819-1876), Civil War veteran, Methodist preacher and early county organizer, said to have been the youngest soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto; and Edward G. Didham (1835-1893), an English army captain and local pioneer teacher. Also said to be interred here are Tommie Knight (1794-1885), Dr. J.S. Peavy (1830-1888) and Mollie Pierce (b. 1868). Historic Texas Cemetery-2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This burial ground grew up around Wilson Chapel, credited to David McMahon, Newton County's first attorney, and holds a remarkable cross-section of the county's pioneer leaders. Among them are a Methodist minister, an early county organizer said to have been the youngest soldier at San Jacinto and later a Civil War veteran, and an English army captain turned frontier schoolteacher. Their marked graves, alongside others only remembered by name, sketch the first generation to build a community here.
Why it matters
Small pioneer cemeteries like this preserve, in a few weathered stones, the founders—lawyers, preachers, soldiers, and teachers—who turned raw East Texas frontier into a functioning county.
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Related people
- · David McMahon
- · Rev. Friend McMahon
- · Josephus Somerville Irvine
- · Edward G. Didham
Themes & tags
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