"First" - Liberty Cemetery - Martin's Mill, TX
N 32° 22.145 W 095° 46.157
15S E 239436 N 3584720
A sandstone grave marker with "First" etched into it by hand is at the final resting place of some anonymous soul, noted as the first historical burial in Liberty Cemetery, Martin's Mill, TX.
Waymark Code: WMZZ9W
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/27/2019
Views: 1
All we have is this fieldstone that says "First", along with a newer marker, placed by the cemetery association, that indicates "First Historical Burial Circa 1846". This would be a good subject for an addendum plate for the 2001 Texas Historical Marker for the cemetery, which references this grave, but is not privy to the information that concluded that this grave dates to around 1846. The marker reads:
Located along the Tyler-Porter's Bluff Road, a major route for pioneers coming through Texas from eastern and southern parts of the United States, this burial ground is a reflection of 19th- and 20th-century settlement in this area of Van Zandt County.
Liberty Cemetery is located within acreage obtained by pioneer David Riley in 1851. According to local tradition, Riley was a charter member of the Liberty Baptist Church, which served the local community for about ten years in the mid-19th century. Riley may have sold or donated part of his land for use by the church and for this cemetery, but a missing volume of county deed records prevents clear documentation of such a land transaction.
The earliest documented grave is that of Watson McWilliams, who died in December 1855. Another gravestone, inscribed simply "first", provides no name or date, and a number of grave sites along the western boundary of the cemetery bear native red sandstone markers with no inscriptions.
By 1874 there were 25 known graves in the Liberty Cemetery, and at the turn of the 21st century, it contained more than 450 grave sites. The Liberty Cemetery Association maintains the burial ground and holds an annual reunion for friends and relatives of those buried in the pioneer cemetery.
Date of Birth: Unknown
Date of Death: Unknown
Material: Stone
Web Site: [Web Link]
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