FIRST Burial in Vittitoe Cemetery - Kentucky Town, TX
N 33° 30.514 W 096° 26.173
14S E 738146 N 3710610
A 1985 Texas Historical Marker at Vittitoe Cemetery, south of what remains of Kentucky Town in Grayson County, TX, notes that the first burial here was "probably" Frank Vittitoe, prior to the breakout of the Civil War.
Waymark Code: WM13KG0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/31/2020
Views: 3
The historical marker provides some background:
This graveyard was begun as a family burial plot by Samuel and Ellen Vittitoe, who settled on land surrounding this site in 1852. Their son, Frank, probably was the first to be buried here sometime before the outbreak of the Civil War, although his headstone is undated. The Vittitoes made it known to the residents of Kentucky Town (1 mi. N) that their plot was open for burials outside the family, but the cemetery was not used as a public burial ground until it was legally established as such in 1885.
More than 700 graves have been recorded in the Vittitoe Cemetery. Most of them bear tombstones with legible inscriptions, but others are marked only by stakes or pieces of stone or rock. Included among those buried here are early settlers such as Andrew Thomas, who brought his family to the area in 1837; numerous Civil War veterans; the Rev. Isaac Teague, pastor of the Kentucky Town Baptist Church during the early 1900s; and Benjamin Earnest, who helped establish a general store soon after settling in Kentucky Town in 1859.
Vittitoe Cemetery, which is cared for by the Vittitoe Cemetery Association, is an important reminder of the early history of this part of Grayson County.
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The Findagrave page for the cemetery elaborates, indicating that, "The four undated stones that sit in a row are Ellen, Frank, Samuel and Black Mammie. Samuel's estate was probated in 1862 and Frank was not listed among the heirs, nor was he with the family in the 1860 census. So it is assumed that his burial was prior to 1860." Black Mammie was a slave, but beloved enough that she wasn't buried "separately and equally."
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1860
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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