Woods Cemetery
Burkeville, Newton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Brothers Sebern (1809-1865), Allen (1814-1887) and John Woods and their families were living in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, in 1840. They traveled to the Republic of Texas with their parents, John (1785-1863) and Mary (b. 1790) Woods, in the fall, settling in what was then Jasper County. Sebern and Allen received land grants from the Republic of Texas in about 1842. They worked to build a community and in 1844 organized a Baptist Church in the home of Sebern and Nancy (Marshall) (1819-1893) Woods. The area became part of the newly formed Newton County in 1846. John Woods moved to Louisiana; Allen and his wife Mathilda Ann soon followed. She died in 1856, and Allen returned to Texas with his second wife, Eliza, in 1857. According to family history, Sebern set aside a tract of land for a cemetery. His grandson, T. R. Woods (1879-1945), later gave another tract, bringing the cemetery to 1½ acres. According to oral history, the earliest grave is that of John Woods, Sr. (1785-1863). The earliest legible historic gravestones are those of three of Allen and Eliza Woods' children. More than 20 marked graves date from 1900 or earlier. The almost 50 marked graves of children dating from before 1930 are a testament to the difficult conditions of pioneer life. Woods cemetery is the final resting place of more than 368 people. Many of these men and women were pioneer residents of Newton County, including ministers, public officials, farmers, educators, medical doctors, musicians, lawyers and laborers. The 42 veterans buried here before the dawn of the 21st century included one who fought in the U.S. wars with American Indians, eight veterans of the Civil War, and several who saw conflict in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Woods brothers and their aging parents left Mississippi in the fall of 1840 for the young Republic of Texas, taking land grants and organizing a Baptist church in a settler's home by 1844. The family set aside a tract for a cemetery that has since grown to hold more than 368 people. Its stones tell a hard story—nearly fifty child graves from before 1930—and honor 42 veterans whose service stretched from the Indian wars and the Civil War through two world wars, Korea, and Vietnam.
Why it matters
This one burial ground compresses more than a century of American life, from Republic-of-Texas pioneering to five generations of military service, into a single acre and a half.
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Related people
- · Sebern Woods
- · Allen Woods
- · John Woods
Themes & tags
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