Felps Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker at Felps Cemetery has to say, and friend, there's more packed into this quiet piece of Hardin County ground than you might expect. It all starts before Texas was even a state. Back in 1841, a man named Christian Hopfield received a land grant here, signed off by Mirabeau B.

Lamar and the Republic of Texas itself. That's the kind of origin story that puts deep roots under a place. Hopfield eventually sold the land to A.

J. McMillan in 1873, and the ground kept changing hands, kept accumulating years. Now, the cemetery that grew up here likely holds burials older than any name we can still read.

But the earliest known grave belongs to Nancy Griffin Hall, born 1855, gone by 1878, at just twenty-three years old. That's a hard number to sit with. And she wasn't alone among the young.

Nine-year-old Mittie Roberts, born 1876, buried 1885. Little Ellen Hall, born 1882, only two years old when she was laid to rest in 1884. And Selern Hall, four years old, born 1895, gone by 1899.

The nineteenth century didn't spare the small ones out here in east Texas. William Felps acquired the land around this site in 1918, and over time, the way things do in a place like Texas, the cemetery gradually took on his name. Felps Cemetery.

Simple as that. Among the other graves worth knowing: Confederate veteran Henry Patterson rests here, along with several other military veterans. But the name that might stop you in your tracks belongs to Lance Rosier, born 1886, died 1970, a World War I veteran who earned himself a title that suits this land perfectly.

They called him Mr. Big Thicket, for his lifelong efforts to conserve east Texas' own Big Thicket National Preserve. A soldier who came home and spent his years fightin' for the trees and the tangle and the wild green heart of this region.

From a republic-era land grant to a World War I veteran who loved the thicket enough to give it his name in legend, this old cemetery in Hardin County holds just about the whole sweep of Texas history right beneath your feet.

What the marker says

This cemetery developed on land granted to Christian Hopfield by Mirabeau B. Lamar and the Republic of Texas in 1841. Hopfield sold the land to A. J. McMillan in 1873. Though there probably are earlier burials, the earliest known grave is that of Nancy (Griffin) Hall (1855-1878), who died at age 23. Other 19th century burials include those of 9-year-old Mittie Roberts (1876-1885), 2-year-old Ellen Hall (1882-1884), and 4-year-old Selern Hall (1895-1899). William Felps acquired the land around this site in 1918 and the cemetery gradually took on his name. Other graves of interest are those of Confederate veteran Henry Patterson and several other military veterans, including Lance Rosier (1886-1970), a World War I veteran known as "Mr. Big Thicket" for his efforts to conserve east Texas' Big Thicket National Preserve. (2000)