Marker Number: 14108 & 14142
Marker Text:
Jefferson, inhabited by 1840, was founded on Republic of Texas land grant of Allen Urquhart (1792-1866), owner of Local ferry, who donated public burial tract that proved unsuitable. About 1846 he substituted this "larger, more beautiful site", to which prior burials were then moved. Earliest marked grave is that of settler Benjamin Foscue (1789-1850), who died of cholera. The Hebrew Benevolent Association of Jefferson in 1862 bought "Mt. Sinai" (1.5 acres adjacent, to the north. By an 1880 ordinance, the city added Catholic burial ground in use on the south. After the mid-1880s, individuals' lots on the south and east were taken into Oakwood. The city bought large westerly tracts, 1903 and 1929. Here lie national and state officials; merchants, bankers, and railroad builders; religious and cultural figures. The nearly 15,000 interments include also antagonists Robertson and Rose (first names unknown), who killed each other and lie here chained together, an iron post marking the grave; sensational murder victim "Diamond Bessie", her alleged killer's captor, Sheriff Vines, and lawyers active in ensuing trials; confederate veterans such as spy-hero John Burke and 1860s federal occupation soldiers; also veterans of other wars, Oakwood is a focus for Texas history. (1974)
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