Jeffrey Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Abraham Roberts was a Tennessee man, and in 1828, down in Alabama, he married a woman named Cynthia Jeffrey. Ten years after that wedding, the two of them packed up their family and made their way to Seguin, Texas.

That's a long road, and they were just getting started. In 1840, Roberts purchased land on Tinney's Creek, out in what was then Gonzales County. He wasn't just settling in, though.

He and other area residents petitioned the Texas Legislature to create a new county. The legislature obliged, and in 1847, that county was formed and named Caldwell. Now, the very same year that new county came into being, the Roberts family found themselves facing something no family wants to face.

A granddaughter, Martha Ellison, died while visiting them, and she became the first burial on the family property. From that quiet, sorrowful beginning, something larger grew. The family and local residents began using the site as a community burial ground, and so it has remained.

Now, if you're expecting a clean, simple story about how the cemetery got its name, I'll warn you right now, the marker itself says there are conflicting stories. Conflicting stories about the name's origins. Conflicting stories about which family gave the land.

What the record does show is a 1921 deed citing acreage conveyed earlier to a cemetery association, and then in 1938, the community officially adopted the name Jeffrey Cemetery and elected officers to a board of trustees. Several hundred graves rest on that ground today. Among them, veterans of military service dating all the way back to the U.S.-Mexican War, alongside generations of area residents.

And the association is still out there, still maintaining the site, still holding traditional homecomings for families and friends of those buried there. Some stories don't end. They just keep gathering people.

What the marker says

Tennessee native Abraham Roberts wed Cynthia Jeffrey in Alabama in 1828. The couple arrived in Seguin, Texas, ten years later with their family. In 1840, Roberts purchased land on Tinney's Creek in what was then Gonzales County. He and other area residents petitioned the Texas Legislature to create a new county, which was formed in 1847 and named Caldwell. That year the Roberts family made the first burial on family property when granddaughter Martha Ellison died while visiting them. The family and local residents soon began using the site as a community burial ground. There are conflicting stories about the origins of the cemetery name and about which family gave the land for the site, but a 1921 deed cited acreage conveyed earlier to a cemetery association. In 1938, the community officially adopted the name Jeffrey Cemetery and elected officers to a board of trustees. Today, an association maintains the site and continues traditional homecomings for families and friends of those buried here. Among the several hundred graves are the names of veterans of military service dating to the U.S.-Mexican War, as well as generations of area residents. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004