Davidson Family Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Davidson Family Cemetery in Navarro County. Now, every family that pushed into Texas carried something with them, and the Davidsons of Mississippi carried plenty. William L.

Davidson, born in 1777, and his wife Jane Stuart Fleming Davidson, born in 1787, loaded up their children and made the move to Texas in 1851. They put down first in Brazos County, getting their footing in new soil. But around 1857, they picked up again and headed for Navarro County, and that is where the story really takes root.

That same year, 1857, William Davidson purchased two tracts of land from a man named William M. Love, down in the southeastern part of Navarro County. Eight hundred and thirty acres, total.

He started farming it. His sons, Walker Young Davidson and Robert Stuart Davidson, weren't about to be left out either. They also bought land from William M.

Love, and kept acquiring more in the area over the years. This family was staking a serious claim to that corner of Texas. Then the Civil War came calling.

Both sons, Walker Young and Robert Stuart, served in Company H of the 20th Texas Cavalry, Bass Regiment. Two brothers, same company, same regiment. You don't forget a detail like that.

Back home, the Davidsons built something worth coming back to. They were successful sheep farmers and ranchers, and the larger cattle ranchers of the area had a name for people like them. They called them Grangers.

And the marker tells us it's believed the Davidsons were likely members of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a fraternal organization of American farmers. Whether that name was meant as a slight or just a fact of life, the Davidsons kept right on raising their sheep. In 1861, a portion of the Davidson land was set aside as a family burial ground, on the tract that had been deeded to Robert Stuart Davidson.

The first known burial there is heartbreaking, the way so many pioneer stories are. Little Mary Ann, daughter of Walker Young Davidson and Ann E. Davidson, was born in 1860 and died in 1861.

A child who barely had time to know the Texas air. Over the years, others joined her in that ground. William L.

Davidson himself, who had lived since 1777 and died in 1861. His wife Jane Stuart Davidson, born 1787, died 1869. Robert Stuart Davidson, born 1833, died 1880.

Ann Eliza, wife of Walker Young Davidson, born 1840, died 1883. And Ann Eliza's daughter, Missouri Eliza, born 1861, died 1871. Walker Young himself is buried not here but in the nearby Eureka Cemetery.

The cemetery is fenced. It has stone markers and obelisks standing quiet in southeastern Navarro County. It's a small piece of ground, but it holds the weight of a family that came from Mississippi, bought land, farmed it, sent sons to war, raised sheep when everyone else was raising cattle, and left their names in stone.

The marker calls it a reminder of the early pioneer settlers of the Eureka community and Navarro County. I'd say it's more than a reminder. It's evidence.

The Davidsons were here, and they meant to stay.

What the marker says

DAVIDSON FAMILY CEMETERY WILLIAM L. DAVIDSON (1777-1861), JANE STUART (FLEMING) DAVIDSON (1787-1869) AND THEIR CHILDREN CAME TO TEXAS IN 1851 FROM MISSISSIPPI AND SETTLED IN BRAZOS COUNTY. AROUND 1857, THEY MOVED TO NAVARRO COUNTY. THAT SAME YEAR, DAVIDSON PURCHASED TWO TRACTS OF LAND FROM WILLIAM M. LOVE IN SOUTHEASTERN NAVARRO COUNTY TOTALING 830 ACRES AND BEGAN TO FARM THE LAND. HIS SONS, WALKER YOUNG DAVIDSON AND ROBERT STUART DAVIDSON, ALSO PURCHASED LAND FROM WILLIAM M. LOVE AS WELL AS MORE LAND IN THE AREA OVER THE YEARS. BOTH SONS SERVED IN CO. H, 20TH TEXAS CAVALRY, BASS REGIMENT DURING THE CIVIL WAR. THE DAVIDSONS WERE SUCCESSFUL SHEEP FARMERS AND RANCHERS, AND WERE KNOWN BY THE LARGER CATTLE RANCHERS OF THE AREA AS "GRANGERS." IT IS BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE LIKELY MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GRANGE OF THE ORDER OF PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY, A FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN FARMERS. IN 1861, A PORTION OF THE DAVIDSON LAND WAS SET ASIDE AS A FAMILY BURIAL SITE ON THE TRACT DEEDED TO ROBERT STUART DAVIDSON. THE FIRST KNOWN BURIAL IS THAT OF MARY ANN (1860-1861), THE DAUGHTER OF WALKER YOUNG DAVIDSON AND ANN E. DAVIDSON. BOTH WILLIAM L. DAVIDSON AND JANE STUART DAVIDSON ARE BURIED HERE. IN ADDITION, ROBERT STUART DAVIDSON (1833-1880) IS BURIED HERE ALONG WITH THE WIFE OF WALKER YOUNG DAVIDSON, ANN ELIZA (1840-1883), AND HER DAUGHTER, MISSOURI ELIZA (1861-1871). WALKER YOUNG IS BURIED IN THE NEARBY EUREKA CEMETERY. THIS SMALL FAMILY BURIAL GROUND IS FENCED AND FEATURES STONE MARKERS AND OBELISKS. IT IS A REMINDER OF EARLY PIONEER SETTLERS TO THE EUREKA COMMUNITY AND NAVARRO COUNTY. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY - 2003