DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Robert and Nancy Agnes Gellatly made a long journey — out of Dundee, Scotland, across the Atlantic, and down into Texas soil — sometime between 1834 and 1836. They didn't come alone.
Their son David made the crossing with them, and Nancy's father, William Sturrock, along with other family members, came along for the journey too. That is a whole community pulling up roots and planting them somewhere new. Now Robert, he wasn't the kind of man to sit still once he arrived.
He served in the Republic of Texas army, and for that service he received land in 1841. And if you think that was enough for him, well — you don't know Robert Gellatly. He went on to serve Sabine County as justice of the peace, sheriff, tax collector, and chief justice.
That is not a resume. That is a county government with one man's name on most of the doors. Robert and Nancy built a life here.
Six children in all. You can picture the noise of that household, the roots growing deeper with every passing year. But here's where the story turns quiet.
In 1863, their daughter Anna Mathews died, and it was her passing that established this graveyard. That's how cemeteries often begin — not with planning, but with grief. The Gellatly family plot started as a place to lay Anna down.
Four generations of the family have been buried here since. From Dundee to Sabine County, from 1834 to four generations deep in Texas earth — the Gellatlys didn't just immigrate. They stayed.
What the marker says
Robert and Nancy Agnes Gellatly and their son, David, immigrated to Texas from Dundee, Scotland, between 1834 and 1836. Nancy's father, William Sturrock, and other family members also came with them. For his service in the Republic of Texas army, Robert received land in 1841. He later served Sabine County as justice of the peace, sheriff, tax collector, and chief justice. Robert and Nancy eventually were the parents of six children. This graveyard was established in 1863 upon the death of their daughter, Anna Mathews. Four generations of the family are buried here.