McRae Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about McRae Cemetery, out in San Augustine County. Now, some stories begin with a building. This one begins with the land, and with the people already buried in it.

The minutes of the McRae church tell us that on the fifteenth day of October, 1882, a number of persons assembled at a place called Union Church, six miles southwest of the town of San Augustine. They had come at their own request, dismissed from the First Presbyterian Church of San Augustine, and they were organized that day into something new. A congregation of their own.

They named it Wilson Church first, after the organizer of the First Presbyterian Church in Texas, a man by the name of Reverend Hugh Wilson. But that name didn't hold long. The congregation soon changed it to McRae Church, in honor of Reverend D.A.

McRae of North Carolina, who had helped organize the congregation and who stepped in as their first pastor. Now, a congregation needs more than a name. It needs a place to stand.

Captain T.W. Blount offered land at the site for the construction of a church, and in February of 1884 he signed over the property for both the church and the cemetery to the church trustees. A frame structure went up, was completed, and was dedicated in October of 1884.

But here is the thing about that cemetery. It was already there. Already in use, the marker tells us, for several years before the church was ever organized.

The oldest marked burial belongs to a child named Willy Myrick, who died in 1866. Willy was the son of John Myrick and Adeline Roundtree. John Myrick himself would later be listed in the church minutes as a member in 1883, years after his boy had already been laid in that ground.

And then there is Ela Jane Pritchett. Two years old. The daughter of founding member J.C.

Pritchett. She died just seven days after the church's founding, and she was buried at the cemetery. Seven days.

The congregation had barely drawn its first breath as a body when one of its own was gone. Reverend D.A. McRae served that congregation for forty years.

Forty years of Sundays, of seasons, of the kind of slow faithful work that doesn't make for dramatic stories but makes for something that lasts. On April 5, 1920, he was laid to rest in the very cemetery that bears his name. The Brazos Presbytery dissolved the church in 1969.

But the cemetery did not close. It remains active to this day, cared for by the McRae Cemetery Association. The church is gone.

The people in that ground are not forgotten. That is, if you think about it, exactly what a cemetery is for.

What the marker says

Minutes of the McRae church state that "at a place called Union Church, six miles southwest of the town of San Augustine, a number of persons assembled on this, the 15th day of October 1882 . . . The following persons at their own request, were dismissed from the First Presbyterian Church of San Augustine and were organized." The church was first named Wilson Church, after the organizer of the First Presbyterian Church in Texas, Rev. Hugh Wilson. However, the church’s name soon changed to McRae Church, in honor of Rev. D.A. McRae of North Carolina, who helped to organize the congregation and served as the first pastor. Captain T.W. Blount offered land at this site to the congregation for the construction of a church, and a frame structure was completed and dedicated in October of 1884. Captain Blount had signed over the property for the church and cemetery to the church trustees in February of 1884. The cemetery at this site had been in use for several years prior to the organization of the church. The oldest marked burial at the cemetery is that of Willy Myrick, who died in 1866. Willy was the son of John Myrick and Adeline Roundtree; John Myrick was listed in the church minutes as a member in 1883. Ela Jane Pritchett, the two-year-old daughter of founding member J.C. Pritchett, died just seven days after the church’s founding and was buried at the cemetery. On April 5, 1920, after forty years of service, Rev. D.A. McRae was laid to rest in the cemetery that bears his name. Although the church was dissolved by the Brazos Presbytery in 1969, the cemetery continues to be active and is cared for by the McRae Cemetery Association. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2007