EARLIEST Document Burial in Oakwood Cemetery - Honey Grove, TX - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

The historical marker provides some cemetery history:

Established in 1846, this cemetery was originally known as the Walcott Graveyard. The earliest documented burial in the cemetery is that of James G. Gilmer (1814-1846). A native of Kentucky, Gilmer came to Texas in the late 1830s and settled in this area. He was buried on his family land, and his widow, Elizabeth Parrish Gilmer, later married Benjamin Stuart Walcott. Mr. and Mrs. Walcott gave the land containing Gilmer's grave to the community as a public graveyard. It later became known as Oakwood Cemetery because of the area's large oak trees.

Members of Honey Grove's early pioneer families are interred in the graveyard, as are many of their descendants. Over 275 veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II are represented here, some with gravestones and some, whose bodies were not returned, with memorials. Also buried here are members of Honey Grove's pre-Civil War slave community and freed black citizens.

Land acquisitions over the years have increased the size of the cemetery. An entrance gate was erected in 1910, and a fence was built around the graveyard about 1913. the Oakwood Cemetery Association, formed in 1923, maintains the historic cemetery.

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This area was wilderness in the 1840s, so this man and his family had some strength of character, to put it mildly. An obelisk marks his final resting place, as well as that of three children, and there is a 1972 Texas Historical Marker that provides a short biography that complements the cemetery's historical marker:

One of the courageous men who helped civilize the wilderness. Moved here from Kentucky in 1845 with his wife, Elizabeth (Parrish) and children William S., George A., and Thomas S. James P. Gilmer, the fourth son, is said to have been first Anglo-American born at present Honey Grove. A few months after he settled here, James G. Gilmer died; his burial established this cemetery. On his land grant, left to his wife, the town was later built.

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There is text on two sides of the monument. The main one, facing east, depicts a hand with the index finger pointing skyward, with "At Rest" and "James G. Gilmer" above it. The inscription reads:

Born
In Adair Co.
Ky.
May 15, 1814

Died
April 15, 1846

Aged 31 Yrs
& 11 Mos.

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Those who knew him
best
Loved him most

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The side facing south notes the burial of three Walcott children, and reads:

In Memory of
Cornelia
Infant dau,t of
B.S. & B.G. Walcott

Born
Feb. 27, 1849.
Died
April 22, 1849.
Aged 1 mo. 25 Ds.

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Also:
Of an Infant
Daug,t.
Born,
Died
June 20, 1854.

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&
Infant Son
Born & Died
June 20, 1855.

FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group Date of FIRST: 01/01/1846 More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]

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