DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the voice passing it along. Out on the southeast side of Carthage, on a hill where large trees throw their shade like they've been standing guard for generations, you'll find Anderson Cemetery — the burial place for many of Panola County's early settlers. Now, the cemetery carries that name for a reason, and the reason is a man named Jonathan Anderson, born in 1798 and gone in 1890.
Anderson donated a hundred acres of his own land for the town of Carthage itself. He was elected county sheriff. And if that weren't enough to earn a place in the story of East Texas, the man was a veteran of the Texas Revolution — having served during the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto.
Two of the hardest-fought moments in the founding of this state, and Jonathan Anderson was there for both of them. The first to be buried in the cemetery that would one day carry his name was his first wife, Nancy Whetmore. There's a quiet weight in that detail — the land he gave, and the first soul it kept.
Over the years, Anderson Cemetery received veterans of the Civil War, of World War One, and of World War Two. Fighters from different eras, different causes, different corners of history, all coming to rest on the same shaded hill. Many of Anderson's own descendants are buried here as well.
What the marker calls this place is a record — a record of East Texas pioneers and their wide variety of religious and ethnic customs. That hill outside Carthage isn't just a cemetery. It's a document written in names and dates and lives, and the trees have been reading it for a long, long time.
What the marker says
ANDERSON CEMETERY SITUATED ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF CARTHAGE ON A HILL SHADED BY LARGE TREES, ANDERSON CEMETERY IS THE BURIAL PLACE FOR MANY OF PANOLA COUNTY'S EARLY SETTLERS. THE CEMETERY WAS NAMED FOR JONATHAN ANDERSON (1798-1890), WHO DONATED 100 ACRES OF HIS LAND FOR THE TOWN OF CARTHAGE. HE WAS ELECTED AS COUNTY SHERIFF, AND WAS A VETERAN OF THE TEXAS REVOLUTION, HAVING SERVED DURING THE SIEGE OF BEXAR AND THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO. HIS FIRST WIFE, NANCY WHETMORE, WAS THE FIRST TO BE BURIED HERE. OTHERS INTERRED HERE WERE VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR, WWI AND WWII. MANY OF ANDERSON'S DESCENDANTS ARE ALSO BURIED HERE. THIS CEMETERY IS A RECORD OF EAST TEXAS PIONEERS AND THEIR WIDE VARIETY OF RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC CUSTOMS.