DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the authority here, and I'm just the one bringin' it to life — so let me tell you what it says about Connell Cemetery out in Williamson County. Now, picture this: 1834, and a family by the name of Connell is pullin' up roots in Alabama and headin' for Texas. Young Sampson Connell, Jr. — born in 1822 — is makin' that journey with them.
He couldn't have been more than a boy, but Texas had a way of growin' people up fast. And grow up fast he did. Because just two years later, in 1836, Sampson wasn't sittin' by any fireside.
He was out at the Battle of San Jacinto — and not alone, either. His father was there. His brother was there.
Three Connells on that field. Whatever that family was made of, they brought all of it. For his efforts at San Jacinto, Sampson received a land grant in Washington County.
But a man like Sampson Connell wasn't the kind to stay put. He moved to Milam County, and there he helped found the San Gabriel Christian Church — which tells you something right there about what he thought a community was supposed to look like. Then he moved again, settlin' in Williamson County as a farmer and stockman, puttin' down roots in the way that counts: land, livestock, and neighbors.
When the Civil War came, Sampson answered that call too. He served in Captain Robert Ashford's Company B, 1st Regiment, 27th Brigade, and later in the local Home Guard. Alabama birth, Texas blood, San Jacinto veteran — and still he served again.
On his homestead in Williamson County, there is a piece of ground the family has always kept. They called it the Connell Cemetery — sometimes known as Bear Creek. And the oldest known grave in that burial ground is Sampson's own, marked by a cairn dating to 1873.
Several relatives and friends have been laid to rest there alongside him over the years. That cemetery is still there. Designated a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2006.
A patch of Williamson County soil holding the story of a man who crossed into Texas as a boy, fought at San Jacinto as a young man, built churches and homesteads in between, and ended up in the ground he earned. That's the kind of family a cemetery is proud to carry the name of.
What the marker says
Alabama native Sampson Connell, Jr. (b. 1822) came to Texas with his family in 1834. Sampson, his father, and his brother participated at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. For his efforts, Sampson received a land grant in Washington County. He moved to Milam COunty where he helped found the San Gabriel Christian Church, later settling in Willaimson County as a farmer and stockman. During the Civil War he served in Capt. Robert Ashford's Co. B, 1st Regiment, 27th Brigade, and later in the local Home Guard. This family cemetery, also known as Bear Creek, was part of his homestead, and his 1873 burial cairn is the oldest known grave. Several relatives and friends are interred in this burial ground that honors a pioneering Texas family.Historic Texas Cemetery-2006