DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Moss Ragsdale Cemetery has to say — and there's more layered into this ground than the name alone lets on. The cemetery carries two names, and both of them earned their place. Matthew Moss is the first — a man born in Virginia in 1776 who served in the War of 1812, then made his way to Arkansas, where he ran a steamboat on the Red River.
That's already a life. But Moss wasn't done moving. Around 1845, he brought his family to Milam County, and it was on his own property that this burial ground took root.
Now, the ground had been receiving the dead since the 1850s — but here's the thing that catches you. The land wasn't formally set aside for that purpose until 1902, when a warranty deed put it in writing: one acre of land, to be used exclusively as a burying ground and for no other purpose. Fifty years of burials before anybody got around to the paperwork.
That's pioneer country for you. The second name on the cemetery belongs to James Campbell Ragsdale — Moss' son-in-law, husband of Rebecca Moss. Ragsdale had settled in Fayette County around 1832 and served in the war for Texas Independence.
He was a man who had already crossed some significant ground in his life. But it was Milam County where his journey ended. He died while on a business trip here and was buried on his father-in-law's property — the very first person interred at this site.
The man the cemetery is partly named for was also its first occupant. That's the kind of detail that stays with you. Matthew Moss himself died in 1858 and is presumed to be buried here too, though the marker is careful with that word — presumed.
Not confirmed. Just strongly suspected, the way a lot of frontier history has to be held. All the marked burials that remain at this cemetery are members of Matthew Moss' extended family.
That fact alone tells you something about how tightly knit, and how thoroughly planted in this particular patch of Milam County, one family could become. Nearby — or what used to be nearby — was the town of San Andres, laid out in the early 1850s. It had a post office operating from 1852 until 1877.
David Green Davis served as San Andres' first postmaster, and when he died in 1871, he was buried right here. He shares the ground with other Confederate veterans: L.E.S. Williams, John Matthew Davis, and Matthew Moss Ragsdale.
The last known burial was in 1916 — Elizabeth Murry Ragsdale, wife of Matthew Moss Ragsdale. After her, the record goes quiet. San Andres is gone now.
The post office closed. The town faded. But the cemetery remains, out here near where that former townsite used to be, holding the Moss family and their kin, holding veterans of two different wars, holding the first postmaster of a town most people have never heard of.
Moss Ragsdale Cemetery, the marker says, serves as a reminder of the many pioneer families who worked to settle Milam County. And standing here, with all of that beneath your feet, it's hard to argue with that.
What the marker says
The cemetery at this site was first used as a burial ground in the 1850s, but the land was not formally set aside for this purpose until a 1902 warranty deed noted “one acre of land . . . to be used exclusively as a burying ground and for no other purpose.” The cemetery is named for Matthew Moss, on whose property it was established, and Moss’ son-in-law, James Campbell Ragsdale, who was the first person interred at the site. All of the marked burials that remain at the cemetery are members of Matthew Moss’ extended family. Matthew Moss was born in Virginia in 1776 and served in the War of 1812 before moving to Arkansas, where he operated a steamboat on the Red River. He brought his family to Milam County ca. 1845. Moss died in 1858 and is presumed to be buried at this site. James C. Ragsdale settled in Fayette County ca. 1832, married Rebecca Moss, and served in the war for Texas Independence. Ragsdale died while on a business trip in Milam County, and was buried on his father-in-law’s property. The last known burial, in 1916, was that of Elizabeth Murry Ragsdale, wife of Matthew Moss Ragsdale. The cemetery is located near the former townsite of San Andres. San Andres was laid out in the early 1850s and a post office operated at the site from 1852 until 1877. David Green Davis, the first postmaster of San Andres, was buried here in 1871. Confederate veterans known to be buried at the site include David Green Davis, L.E.S. Williams, John Matthew Davis and Matthew Moss Ragsdale. Today, Moss Ragsdale Cemetery serves as a reminder of the many pioneer families who worked to settle Milam County.