Longstreet Cemetery - Montgomery County, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 30° 33.012 W 095° 48.393
15R E 230767 N 3383107
A small and seldom visited cemetery in Northwest Montgomery county, Texas (USA). It is the final resting place of Algernon “Texas” Alexander (1900-1954), a locally famous blues singers during the 1920's/1950's era.
Waymark Code: WM12XNJ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/02/2020
Views: 0
Longstreet cemetery is a small, sloped clearing in the pine barrens within a rural section of NW Montgomery County, just outside the boundaries of the Sam Houston National Forest, on County Rd 209. It has about 250 headstones, as well as countless other unmarked graves for the indigent dead.
This graveyard could pass as countless others in rural sections of the US, but its claim to fame is that it's the burial site of Algernon “Texas” Alexander (1900-1954). He was one of the most important blues singers of the 1920s to the mid 1950s.
Born in the Brazos River area of Texas, his career began by singing at a number of different functions ranging from fish fries to county fairs. In the late 1920s, he journeyed to New York City, New York where he recorded for the OKeh Record label with the King Oliver Band. He later returned to Texas where he performed with such notable blues musicians as Chester "Howlin' Wolf" Burnett and his cousin, Sam "Lightin' Hopkins. In 1940, he was convicted of the murder of his wife and was sentenced to serve at the Texas State Penitentiary in Paris, Texas. After being released from prison in 1945, he resumed his performing in Texas. He ultimately died in obscurity.
City, Town, or Parish / State / Country: Montgomery County, TX, USA
Approximate number of graves: 350
Cemetery Status: Active
Cemetery Website: Not listed
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