DUANE
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 looking at — or maybe just passing through — has layers to it, the kind that take a little unwrapping. So settle in.
This is the story of Franklin Cemetery, Robertson County, Texas. Now, this town didn't start out as Franklin. Back in 1872, a community took root here and went by the name Morgan — named for an official of the International Railway Company.
By 1879, some two hundred residents called the place home. Not a sprawling metropolis, but enough people to matter, enough people to need a post office. And that's where things got complicated.
When the community applied for its post office, they learned there was already a Morgan in Texas. Already spoken for. So the residents did what Texans do — they pivoted.
They reached back to the name of the original county seat and called the place Franklin. Simple enough. But here's where the story gets interesting, because the cemetery has its own little drama running underneath all of that.
In 1880, a five-acre plot of land was deeded to Robertson County. The idea was this: sweeten the deal, put a graveyard on the table, and maybe — just maybe — officials would agree to locate the county courthouse right here in Franklin. A graveyard as a bargaining chip.
Only in Texas. Here's the thing, though. Six tombstones on that very site already existed before the land was ever officially designated as a graveyard.
The ground had already been quietly doing its work. The first recorded burial is that of Elizabeth Calvert, in 1869 — three years before the town even had a name, eleven years before anyone signed over that five-acre plot. She was there first.
More than 1,300 graves fill this cemetery now. Among them, veterans — men and women who served in the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. And then there is C.
N. Brignance, veteran of the War of 1812, also laid to rest here. Think about that range for just a moment.
From the War of 1812 all the way to Vietnam, all of it gathered in five acres in Robertson County. The list goes on: former city and county officials, state legislators, men by the names of E. A.
Decherd and J. L. Goodman, members of fraternal organizations, and — here's one you might not expect — four local musicians who went on to achieve national fame.
Four of them. From Franklin, Texas. The Franklin Cemetery has been serving the citizens of Franklin and Robertson counties for more than a hundred years, and it's still at it.
Started before the town had its name, before the land was even deeded, before any official ever stamped a document. Elizabeth Calvert saw to that.
What the marker says
The community of Franklin was originally established in 1872, and named Morgan for an official of the International Railway Company. By 1879 the town had 200 residents. When the community applied for its post office, another Texas post office was named Morgan, so residents changed the name to Franklin after the name of the original county seat. A five-acre plot of land for a graveyard was deeded to Robertson County in 1880 as part of an incentive to persuade officials to locate the county courthouse in Franklin. However, six tombstones on this site predate its official designation as a graveyard. The first recorded burial is that of Elizabeth Calvert in 1869. Among the more than 1,300 graves are members of fraternal organizations, and veterans of the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. C. N. Brignance, veteran of the War of 1812, also is buried here. Interments also include those of former city and county officials, state legislators, E. A. Decherd and J. L. Goodman, and four local musicians who achieved national fame. The Franklin Cemetery continues to serve the citizens of Franklin and Robertson counties as it has for more than 100 years. (1997)