DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Out in Grayson County, there's a patch of ground that's been holding stories since before the Civil War — and it started, as so many things do, with land and loss. The land itself was patented by a man named Anderson White, born in 1801, who received his certificate on April 23, 1850, through Peters Colony — an immigration project that had itself received a large land grant in this region from the Republic of Texas.
Anderson White set down roots here, and for a time, it must have seemed like the beginning of something good. Then January arrived in 1857. On the sixth of that month, White's daughter — Sarah White Haning, wife of Aaron Haning — died, and a burial plot was begun.
Just one week later, on January the thirteenth, a second grave was added. That was Rachel Pierce Haning, Aaron's mother. Two graves in seven days.
The ground had made itself known as a place of remembrance. By June of 1857, White had sold his land in the area — but he was careful about one thing. He held back two acres surrounding that burial site.
Kept them. And in April of 1859, those two acres were deeded to trustees to serve as a public cemetery. Now, the cemetery carries the name of Benjamin F.
Hall — born 1803, died 1873 — and the man earned that honor. Hall was a pioneer minister of the Disciples of Christ, and if that weren't enough, he was also a doctor, a dentist, and a lawyer. He owned the White property from 1857 to 1872 and founded several churches in the region.
When you put a name on a cemetery, you want it to mean something, and Hall's name meant something in this county. The people resting in Hall Cemetery are a cross-section of what early Texas looked like out here. First settlers of this part of Grayson County, who had made the long migration from the eastern United States.
Veterans of the army of the Confederate States of America. And then there are those brought here by something sudden and terrible — several rural victims of the great Sherman tornado of May 15, 1896. That storm has its own chapter in Texas history, and Hall Cemetery holds some of the people who were in its path.
The cemetery grew over time through subsequent donations of land by J. D. Barnett and others who understood what the place had become — not just a burial ground, but a record of who built this corner of Texas, and what they endured to do it.
What the marker says
Located on land patented by Anderson White (1801-85), on certificate issued April 23, 1850, by Peters colony, an immigration project which had received a large land grant in this region from the Republic of Texas. Burial plot was begun Jan. 6, 1857, upon the death of White's daughter, Sarah White Haning, wife of Aaron Haning. One week later, on Jan. 13, a second grave was added, that of Haning's mother, Rachel Pierce Haning. In June 1857, White sold his land in the area, but reserved 2 acres surrounding the burial site, deeded April 1859 to trustees for a public cemetery. Named for Benjamin F. Hall (1803-73), pioneer minister of the Disciples of Christ, doctor, dentist, and lawyer, who owned the White property from 1857 to 1872, and founded several churches in the region. Among those buried here are the first settlers of this part of Grayson County, who migrated to Texas from the eastern United States; a number of veterans of the army of the Confederate States of America; and several rural victims of the great Sherman tornado of May 15, 1896. Subsequent donations of land by J. D. Barnett and