Elliott Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The cemetery you're passing, or maybe already passed, is called Elliott Cemetery, out here in the southern part of Grayson County. And like most things with a name attached, there's a life behind that name worth knowing about.

David Elliott was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in 1817. Now, at an early age, he didn't head for the hills or the frontier. He went to the river.

The Mississippi River. He joined a boat crew, and the river claimed him for a while, long enough that he worked his way up to riverboat captain. That's a life already.

The wide water, the cargo, the currents. But then something else claimed him too. He was ordained as a Baptist minister.

Captain and preacher. Not a combination you hear every day. In 1847, two years after Texas became a state, the Reverend Mr.

Elliott left whatever he had behind and migrated to this area. He settled right here on this land. And when he looked around at what he'd come to, he noticed something quiet and a little humbling.

There were already graves here. Crude markers, cut from a sandstone not common to this part of the country, which means someone carried those stones some distance, or brought them from somewhere else entirely. No inscriptions.

No names. No dates. Just the stones themselves, and what they meant.

Earlier pioneers, already gone, already forgotten by name. Elliott saw those graves, and he left them be. Then in 1855, his daughter Virginia F.

Elliott died. And he laid her to rest near those nameless pioneers. Not apart from them.

Near them. As other settlers moved into the area, the Elliott Family Cemetery opened up as a public burial ground. From 1905 until 1950, it was maintained by Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church, a congregation the Reverend Mr.

Elliott himself had helped organize. David Elliott died in 1909. He is the name on this cemetery.

But the nameless stones were here first, and he knew it, and he honored it. Today the cemetery still holds longtime residents, early teachers, and military veterans. It's still in use.

And those unmarked sandstone markers, brought from somewhere nobody recorded, for someone nobody now remembers, they started all of it.

What the marker says

David Elliott (d. 1909), for whom this cemetery is named, was a pioneer settler in the southern part of Grayson County. Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in 1817, he joined the crew of a boat on the Mississippi River at an early age. He later served as a riverboat captain before his ordination as a Baptist minister. In 1847, two years after Texas became a state, the Rev. Mr. Elliott migrated to this area. Settling on land at this site, he noted evidence of earlier pioneers, including several graves with crude markers of a sandstone not common to the area. The stones contained no inscriptions or identifying marks. When David Elliott's daughter, Virginia F., died in 1855, he interred her near the pioneer graves. Later, as other settlers moved into the area, the Elliott Family Cemetery was opened for use as a public burial ground. From 1905 until 1950, it was maintained by Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church, of which the Rev. Mr. Elliott was an organizer. Others buried here include longtime residents, early teachers, and military veterans. Still used, the site serves as an important historical reminder of the individuals and families who opened this area for settlement. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986