Friendship Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Friendship Cemetery, out in Jasper County. Pull up a chair, because this one starts with a family and ends with a whole community. Joseph Andrew Sheffield was born in 1837, and his wife Rebecca in 1844.

Together they had fourteen children. Fourteen. And in 1885, all of them, the whole Sheffield operation, packed up from Georgia and headed into the piney deep of Jasper County, Texas.

They settled near an area known as the Thickey community, put down roots, and built themselves a large family farm. Now, you don't haul that many people across the South and into East Texas without meaning to stay. And stay they did.

By 1899, Joseph and Rebecca had been there long enough to feel the pull of something bigger than themselves. That year, they donated one and a half acres of their land to the community, for church and school purposes. The church that rose on that land was named Friendship.

And the community, taking a liking to the sound of it, took the new name too. But 1899 also brought grief. That same year, the Sheffields' ten-year-old granddaughter, Quebeck Mock, died and was buried on the family land.

She was the first interment in what would become Friendship Cemetery. Ten years old. There is no way to say that softly, and I won't try.

About ten more people were buried in that graveyard before it received its official designation as a cemetery in deed records, in 1906. Seven years of burying neighbors before the paperwork caught up. Joseph Sheffield lived on until 1920, and Rebecca until 1922.

They rest there themselves now, along with family members, early Jasper County settlers, Texas Rangers, and veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Hundreds of graves. The cemetery remains in use to this day, still serving citizens from a large area of the county.

One and a half acres, donated in 1899 out of something that looked a lot like faith in your neighbors. That's what a name like Friendship has to carry. Seems to me it's been holdin' up just fine.

What the marker says

Joseph Andrew Jackson Sheffield (1837-1920), his wife Rebecca (1844-1922), and their fourteen children came to this area of Jasper County from Georgia in 1885. They settled near here in an area known as Thickey community and established a large family farm. In 1899 they donated 1.5 acres of land to the community for church and school purposes. the church was named Friendship, and the community also took the new name. The first interment in the Friendship Cemetery occurred in 1899, when the Sheffields' ten-year-old granddaughter, Quebeck Mock, died and was buried on family land. About ten more people were buried in the graveyard prior to its official designation as a cemetery in deed records in 1906. In addition to Sheffield family members, those interred here include early Jasper County settlers, Texas Rangers, and veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Throughout its history, this pioneer cemetery has served citizens from a large area of the county. Containing hundreds of graves, it remains in use and stands as a reminder of the area's early heritage.