FIRST Person Buried in Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery - Westlake, TX
N 32° 59.422 W 097° 12.794
14S E 666941 N 3651636
A 1985 Texas Historical Marker at the gate to historic Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery indicates that James DeWitt Pressley was the first person buried here, back in 1897.
Waymark Code: WM1326D
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/30/2020
Views: 0
Mr. Pressley is buried at the tree line in the southwest corner of the cemetery. His headstone isn't vintage 1897, a replacement or simply placed here at a later date. It is made of gray granite, with flowers complementing the inscription, which reads:
James DeWitt Pressley
May 9, 1859
July 20, 1897
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The historical marker elaborates, noting that "Mrs. Calvin Abner Sams" -- Lucinda "Lucy" Sams -- predeceased Mr. Pressley, but was buried elsewhere and moved here later. It reads:
Although few records exist of the Roanoke I.O.O.F. (Independent Order of Oddfellows) Lodge No. 421, it is known that lodge members purchased land at this site in 1897 for use as a burial ground. Consisting of approximately five and one-half acres, the cemetery always has been maintained as a public graveyard and never was limited to the families of lodge members. Memberships in the Roanoke Lodge eventually were transferred to Denton along with those of other rural I.O.O.F. Lodges.
The first person buried here was James DeWitt Pressley, who died in 1897. One tombstone bears an earlier date, however. Mrs. Calvin Abner Sams was buried on family property upon her death in 1882, but she was reinterred in the Roanoke Cemetery in 1914. Near the trunk of the "Hanging Tree" in the northeast section of the graveyard is the burial site of an alleged horse thief, who was hanged there in 1906. Another section was reserved for the families of the crew who worked on the railroad here during the 1920s.
A reminder of the area's early history, the cemetery contains the graves of many pioneers, including members of the Sams, Fanning, Cowan, Seagraves, Buell, Lassen, Boutwell, Taylor, Mitchell, and McMahon families.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 07/20/1897
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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