Ivy Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Ivy Cemetery, out there in Angelina County. Now, some places start with a grand ceremony, a ribbon cut, a crowd gathered. Ivy Cemetery started with a grandfather and a grief he couldn't put down.

The year was 1873, and a man named Cyrus Ivy buried a grandson on his family farm. Right then and there, he set aside a piece of that land for a cemetery. Not just for his kin.

For whoever would need it. That's the kind of man Cyrus Ivy was. Cyrus had come a long way to stand on that Texas soil.

Born in Georgia, he'd moved his family to Texas in 1852, and by 1860 he had settled right here, put down roots, and made this place home. Other settlers followed, the way settlers do when word gets around that the land is good and the people are decent. A community took shape around the Ivy name.

And by the 1890s, this wasn't just a crossroads. Ivy had itself a gristmill, a cotton gin, a post office, and two stores. Cyrus himself was deep in the life of that community, a recognized leader, and heavily involved in church activities.

The burial ground he'd started out of sorrow grew right along with everything else. Residents of Ivy and folks from other nearby communities came to use it, and the interments there include veterans of conflicts dating all the way back to the Civil War. Generations of people who carved a life out of this East Texas corner, resting now in ground that one grieving grandfather thought to protect.

Today, a cemetery association cares for the place. It still serves area residents. So the land Cyrus Ivy set aside in 1873, out of nothing but loss and foresight, is still doing exactly what he intended.

Some gifts just keep on giving, quiet and steady, long after the giver is gone.

What the marker says

This burial ground dates to 1873, when Cyrus Ivy buried a grandson on the family farm and set aside land for a cemetery. Born in Georgia, Ivy moved to Texas with his family in 1852 and settled here by 1860. As other settlers came to the area, the community of Ivy developed; by the 1890s, the settlement had a gristmill, cotton gin, post office and two stores. Cyrus Ivy was a community leader and was heavily involved in church activities. As the area grew, residents of Ivy and other nearby communities used the burial ground. Interments here include veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War. Today, a cemetery association cares for this graveyard, which continues to serve area residents.