Belew Cemetery - Aubrey, TX
Posted by: 
OcrazyS
N 33° 20.495 W 096° 58.327
14S E 688718 N 3690991
This active cemetery has been here since 1880. It is located west of Highway 377 between the towns of Aubrey to the south and Pilot Point to the north.
Waymark Code: WMNBRK
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/08/2015
Views: 3
Around 1856, Richard (Dick) Aaron Belew (1820-1900) and Mary Jane Belew (1822-1902), their five children and 39 other families came together by wagon from Tennessee to Denton County. They stopped on a hill in an area later known as the Belew Schoolhouse Settlement, part of the A.G. Stapp Survey north of Aubrey. A school soon opened in a log cabin at the site and was later used as a church. The cemetery was located in close proximity to the school. The first piece of land was purchased in October 1880 from Richard Aaron Belew by the citizens of the Belew Schoolhouse Community to be used as a public grave yard. Over 70 red sandstone rocks mark many of the early graves in this original 2.8 acres. By the early 1900s, the Belew Cemetery was established as the main burial ground for the Aubrey area.
In 1902, a Ladies Cemetery Society was organized by Kate Hodges (1857-1906), Mary L. (Mollie) Henderson (1854-1919), Ola Price (1877-1955), Bettie Catlett (1855-1918), Mary Caddell (1854-1940) and Nora McIntosh (1872-1965) to raise funds for the care of the cemetery. To raise money for additional land, the Ladies Cemetery Society voted to hold a Thanksgiving dinner for the community. For 85 years, this fundraiser was a success and allowed the society, later renamed the Belew Cemetery Association, to purchase additional land in 1903 and for the construction of a house for the sexton in 1906 and a pavilion in 1910. Additional land was acquired in 1962 and 1983. The association’s first directors represented rural school districts in the surrounding area. Early settlers, association founders and veterans from the Civil War to the Gulf War are buried here. This historic cemetery continues to honor the area’s heritage and ancestors.
This cemetery is still in use today and have approximately 3,606 people interred here. There is also a columbarium available for cremations.
Please share a picture of your visit to the cemetery. And as always, please be respectful while you are here.
City, Town, or Parish / State / Country: Not listed
Approximate number of graves: Not listed
Cemetery Status: Not listed
Cemetery Website: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Post an original, un-copywrited picture of the Cemetery into this Waymark gallery, along with any observations about the cemetery.