Pendergrass Cemetery

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm working straight from the official marker on this one, so let me give you the story as it stands. William Pendergrass was born in 1818, and if you had to pick one word for the man, pioneer might not even cover it. He and his wife Emaline, born in 1819, pulled up roots in Tennessee and came to Smith County, Texas, in 1849.

That was no small undertaking. But William wasn't finished moving. In 1859 the two of them pointed themselves toward Comanche County, had a look around, then doubled back to Smith County for a spell, 1866 to 1873, before settling here permanently.

Some folks take one look at a piece of country and know. William Pendergrass apparently needed a second look. And when he came back, he stayed.

He and Emaline had nine children, and some of those children followed their parents out to this frontier corner of Comanche County. William threw himself into the work of building a community. He helped establish several churches, a school, and the very cemetery we're talking about right now.

Here's how that cemetery got its start, and it's the kind of detail that tells you something about a man. The first interment here was in 1883, when Pendergrass offered a plot of his land for the burial of a stranger whose body was found nearby. Not a neighbor.

Not a friend. A stranger. He just gave the ground.

Soon after that, he did something else quiet and careful. He moved the graves of two of his grandchildren, Hilliard Pendergrass and Pearly Cook, to this site from a tract of land he had sold. He'd let the land go, but he wasn't about to leave family behind on it.

In 1888, William deeded the full one-acre cemetery to the community. Then he died in 1898. And Emaline, who outlived him and was born just one year after her husband, donated another acre to the cemetery shortly after his death.

She lived on until 1907, and when she finally went, she went right here alongside him. By 1975, when this marker was recorded, the cemetery held five hundred and twenty-five graves, including William, Emaline, and many of their descendants. The Pendergrass Cemetery Association, formed out of a community beautification drive, fenced the site and put up gates in 1959.

The marker notes the cemetery is well-maintained and still used for burials. A man gave ground to a stranger in 1883. More than a century later, a community is still keeping the place beautiful.

That's the whole story, right there.

What the marker says

Pioneer farmer and rancher William Pendergrass (1818-98) and his wife, Emaline (1819-1907), moved from Tennessee to Smith County, Texas, in 1849. They first came to Comanche County in 1859, then settled here permanently after a brief return to Smith County (1866-73). Some of the Pendergrasses' nine children also settled in this area. A leader in this frontier community, Pendergrass helped to establish several churches and a school, as well as this cemetery. The first interment here was in 1883, when Pendergrass offered a plot of his land for the burial of a stranger whose body was found nearby. Soon afterward, he moved graves of two of his grandchildren, Hilliard Pendergrass and Pearly Cook, to this site from a tract of land he had sold. In 1888 he deeded the one-acre cemetery to the community. Emaline Pendergrass donated another acre shortly after her husband's death in 1898. The 525 graves now (1975) here include those of Pendergrass, his wife, and many of their descendants. The Pendergrass Cemetery Association, formed as the result of a community beautification drive, fenced the site and erected gates in 1959. The well-maintained cemetery is still used for burials. (1975)