Newton County, Texas
BENJAMIN GARLINGTON CEMETERY - Newton County, Texas - Historical Marker
Laid to rest here are Benjamin Garlington (c. 1793-1870), his wife Caroline Cynthia (Vick) Garlington (c. 1804-1887), an unidentified laborer who worked for them, and three others whose identities are unknown. This site is East on 320 acres that Benjamin received in 1857 as a bounty for his service in the War of 1812 in which he was listed as a private and musician in the Mississippi Malitia. He later served this area and adjacent parishes in Louisiana Primitive Baptist Preacher. Concerned descendants have rallied to honor and preserve the memory of this pioneer family of Newton County.
Laid to rest here are Benjamin Garlington (c. 1793-1870), his wife Caroline Cynthia (Vick) Garlington (c. 1804-1887), an unidentified laborer who worked for them, and three others whose identities are unknown. This site is East on 320 acres that Benjamin received in 1857 as a bounty for his service in the War of 1812 in which he was listed as a private and musician in the Mississippi Malitia. He later served this area and adjacent parishes in Louisiana Primitive Baptist Preacher. Concerned descendants have rallied to honor and preserve the memory of this pioneer family of Newton County.
SURVEY COMMUNITY - Newton County, Texas - Historical Marker
William Williams, an early 1800s Sabine Valley pioneer, obtained a large land grant in 1834 from the Republic of Mexico. His surveyed land attracted settlers, who called the location "The Survey". In 1847, Wade H. Mattox (1800-1863) built the first frame house in the settlement, using lumber hauled from Alexandria, LA., by a neighbor, Ezekiel Cobb (1825-1864). By the 1850s, the survey had settlers named Booker, Bush, Dade, Clark, Collins, Conner, Droddy, Garlington, Hardy, Joiner, Jones, McGee, Mitchell, Smith, Trotti, and Weeks. The economy was based on farming and (later) lumbering. At least 16 survey community residents fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War (1861-65). In 1889, the Methodists built a church on land given by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Mattox. The building was also used for school purposes. Surveyville Post Office, opened in 1903, was soon renamed "Mayflower". Population shifts starting in the 1940s caused the school to consolidate with Burkeville (1949), the post office to close (1951), and the church to disband (1961). Public facilities, including the church building, Mattox Cemetery, and several other burial grounds, are now maintained by the Survey Cemetery Association.
William Williams, an early 1800s Sabine Valley pioneer, obtained a large land grant in 1834 from the Republic of Mexico. His surveyed land attracted settlers, who called the location "The Survey". In 1847, Wade H. Mattox (1800-1863) built the first frame house in the settlement, using lumber hauled from Alexandria, LA., by a neighbor, Ezekiel Cobb (1825-1864). By the 1850s, the survey had settlers named Booker, Bush, Dade, Clark, Collins, Conner, Droddy, Garlington, Hardy, Joiner, Jones, McGee, Mitchell, Smith, Trotti, and Weeks. The economy was based on farming and (later) lumbering. At least 16 survey community residents fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War (1861-65). In 1889, the Methodists built a church on land given by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Mattox. The building was also used for school purposes. Surveyville Post Office, opened in 1903, was soon renamed "Mayflower". Population shifts starting in the 1940s caused the school to consolidate with Burkeville (1949), the post office to close (1951), and the church to disband (1961). Public facilities, including the church building, Mattox Cemetery, and several other burial grounds, are now maintained by the Survey Cemetery Association.
TANNER CEMETERY - Newton County, Texas - Historical Marker
Thomas and Charlotte Guthrie Tanner moved to Mexican Texas in 1827 or 1828. They purchased six hundred acres on McGraw Creek from J. R. Williams for six hundred dollars in 1849. When Thomas Tanner died in 1862, he was buried on a hill overlooking the property where he and Charlotte reared twelve children. Though several unmarked graves cannot be dated, Thomas Tanner's was probably the first burial in the Tanner Cemetery. The site soon became a community burial ground. In 1872 the Reverend Marcus Miller was buried on this site; he was followed in 1875 by Charlotte Guthrie Tanner. Other 19th and early 20th century burials include those of J. C. Miller, who died in 1890, Bettie Tanner, whose grave is dated 1897, and Lucinda Abbott, who died in 1909. In 1944 and 1972, neighbors deeded adjoining acreage to cemetery trustees. Veterans buried in the cemetery include Thomas Tanner, who served in the army of the Republic of Texas in 1837, and his sons Nathan T. and James L. Tanner who, along with four of their five brothers, served in the Confederate Army. Several World War I and World War II veterans are interred here. Other burials of interest include several local ministers and county officials. More than fifty family names grace the headstones of Tanner Cemetery. Cared for by an association of settlers' descendants, the Tanner Cemetery remains a chronicle of the pioneers of Newton County.
Thomas and Charlotte Guthrie Tanner moved to Mexican Texas in 1827 or 1828. They purchased six hundred acres on McGraw Creek from J. R. Williams for six hundred dollars in 1849. When Thomas Tanner died in 1862, he was buried on a hill overlooking the property where he and Charlotte reared twelve children. Though several unmarked graves cannot be dated, Thomas Tanner's was probably the first burial in the Tanner Cemetery. The site soon became a community burial ground. In 1872 the Reverend Marcus Miller was buried on this site; he was followed in 1875 by Charlotte Guthrie Tanner. Other 19th and early 20th century burials include those of J. C. Miller, who died in 1890, Bettie Tanner, whose grave is dated 1897, and Lucinda Abbott, who died in 1909. In 1944 and 1972, neighbors deeded adjoining acreage to cemetery trustees. Veterans buried in the cemetery include Thomas Tanner, who served in the army of the Republic of Texas in 1837, and his sons Nathan T. and James L. Tanner who, along with four of their five brothers, served in the Confederate Army. Several World War I and World War II veterans are interred here. Other burials of interest include several local ministers and county officials. More than fifty family names grace the headstones of Tanner Cemetery. Cared for by an association of settlers' descendants, the Tanner Cemetery remains a chronicle of the pioneers of Newton County.
WEEKS CHAPEL CEMETERY - Newton County, Texas - Historical Marker
This land was part of an 1838 grant to James Weeks (d.1863) in Jasper County, becoming part of Newton County in 1846. Weeks built a home about one-half mile south of this site, and married Catherine Hardy (b.1831) in 1847. They are presumed buried in the nearby Hardy Cemetery, about one-half mile east. In 1887 Weeks' son James Robert (1850-1936) and his wife, Melvina Robinson (1840-1919) Weeks, granted one acre at this site to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. A crude building was erected to serve as a church and school for area settlers. When a native of the area, Jim Eudaley (1866-1893), was killed in a logging accident near Kirbyville (26 miles S), J. R. Weeks, by then a Methodist minister, suggested a burial behind Weeks' Chapel. The cemetery subsequently served surrounding communities, including Brookland (16 miles NW), Farrsville (5 miles SE), Harrisburg (2 miles SW), and Weeks (2 miles N), and now contains some 300 burials. In 1904 a new church and school building was erected, and the congregation changed its denomination by organizing the Missionary Baptist Church. The school later consolidated with Farrsville, but the church and cemetery remain the focus of an annual homecoming. 1836-1986
This land was part of an 1838 grant to James Weeks (d.1863) in Jasper County, becoming part of Newton County in 1846. Weeks built a home about one-half mile south of this site, and married Catherine Hardy (b.1831) in 1847. They are presumed buried in the nearby Hardy Cemetery, about one-half mile east. In 1887 Weeks' son James Robert (1850-1936) and his wife, Melvina Robinson (1840-1919) Weeks, granted one acre at this site to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. A crude building was erected to serve as a church and school for area settlers. When a native of the area, Jim Eudaley (1866-1893), was killed in a logging accident near Kirbyville (26 miles S), J. R. Weeks, by then a Methodist minister, suggested a burial behind Weeks' Chapel. The cemetery subsequently served surrounding communities, including Brookland (16 miles NW), Farrsville (5 miles SE), Harrisburg (2 miles SW), and Weeks (2 miles N), and now contains some 300 burials. In 1904 a new church and school building was erected, and the congregation changed its denomination by organizing the Missionary Baptist Church. The school later consolidated with Farrsville, but the church and cemetery remain the focus of an annual homecoming. 1836-1986
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