Battern Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Henry Hill Battern came out of Virginia, packed up his family, and made his way to Parker County around 1860. He purchased 160 acres, carved out a family farm, and on that land sat one acre set aside for something quieter.

A cemetery. And before the soil of that new life had hardly been broken in, tragedy arrived first. His second wife, Sarah Jane Hendron, died in 1860.

She is said to be the first person buried in Battern Cemetery. A man barely settled, already standing at a grave. Now, Henry Hill Battern was the kind of man a frontier community leaned on.

He was a Civil War veteran, and when he came home, his neighbors found in him something they needed badly out on that Texas prairie. They called him the family doctor. He had no formal education to speak of, and he'd be the first to tell you so, but folks sought his medical advice anyway, because out there, a steady hand and a trusted name counted for a great deal.

The community esteemed him highly, and in 1867 that esteem became official when he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Precinct 7. Doctor, judge, farmer, veteran. One man carrying a lot of Parker County on his shoulders.

The cemetery that bears his name kept receiving the community's departed across the decades. And the last known burial recorded there, in 1934, was Francis Hill Battern, the son of Henry's third wife. The land Henry purchased, the acre he set aside, it held his people from the very beginning all the way to that final known farewell.

Some places earn their names. Battern Cemetery earned every letter of its.

What the marker says

Henry Hill Battern, a native of Virginia, migrated to Parker county with his family around 1860. He purchased 160 acres of property including this one-acre cemetery and established a family farm. Shortly after the move, Battern's second wife, Sarah Jane Hendron, died in 1860 and is said to be the first person buried in Battern Cemetery. A Civil War veteran, H. H. Battern was highly esteemed by the local community. He served as the family doctor and although he lacked formal education, neighbors sought his medical advice. In 1867, he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Precinct 7. His third wife's son, Francis Hill Battern, is the last known burial at the cemetery in 1934.