FIRST Burial in Abston Cemetery - Lavon, TX
N 33° 02.849 W 096° 25.549
14S E 740374 N 3659496
A 1988 Texas Historical Marker at the front of Abston Cemetery notes that the first burial here was that of American Revolution veteran, John Abston, in 1856.
Waymark Code: WMT0BE
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/02/2016
Views: 4
Mr. Abston fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina in 1780. A Sons of the American Revolution medallion is at his grave, along with a modern, gray, granite headstone that was placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution. It has the emblem noting Abston as A Soldier of the American Revolution, with this inscription, below:
In Memory
of
JOHN ABSTON
Rev. Soldier
1757-1856
Erected By
RICHARD ROYAL CHAPTER
D.A.R.
The historical marker provides some background:
John Abston (1761-1856), a soldier in the American Revolution, was a native of Virginia. In the 1830s Abston and his family moved to Missouri. In 1853 he moved to Collin County, Texas, with the family of his son Jesse. Following Jesse's death that year, the family moved farther south in the county. John Abston and Jesse Abston's widow, Sarah, purchased land in this area in 1854.
A small plot of land was set aside as a family burial ground. John Abston's burial here in 1856 was the first in the cemetery. There are thirty-seven marked graves, including those of several generations of the Abston and related families. All but one of the stones bear 19th-century death dates.
According to family tradition, Sarah Abston at one time gave a small house and a parcel of land to a former slave, Elias Bellew, with the agreement that he would maintain the cemetery. As a result, the graveyard has also been referred to as the Old Bellew Cemetery.
Descendants of those interred in this cemetery still reside in Collin County. The graveyard stands as a reminder of the area's heritage.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 02/07/1856
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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