Perry Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Perry Cemetery, out in Dallas County. Now, most cemeteries don't have a clear beginning; they just seem to have always been there, quiet and waiting. But Perry Cemetery has a date, a name, and a story that starts with a single burial.

The year was 1896. A woman named Sarah Huffman Perry (Mrs. A.

W. Perry) became the first soul laid to rest in what would become the first burial ground associated with the town of Carrollton. That's not a small thing.

First. In a town that was already putting down roots, that distinction matters. Not far from that spot stood the Union Baptist Church, sitting on land that A.

W. Perry himself had given. The man clearly had a sense of permanence about him; the kind of Texan who didn't just settle a place, he shaped it.

And then, on February 18, 1897, Perry went a step further. He deeded land specifically for the cemetery. Put it in writing.

Made it official. After the cemetery opened, some families did something that speaks volumes about what this ground meant to them. They went back to private burial sites; scattered plots on farms and homesteads; and brought their people here, reinterring them in this new shared ground.

They wanted their kin to be part of something that would last. Time kept moving, as it does. Around 1911, the Union Baptist Church moved away from its spot nearby.

And when it did, that church land was added to the cemetery itself. The congregation had gone, but the ground became part of the long memory. Buried here is the Reverend John M.

Myers, a son of Union's very founding pastor, alongside his wife. Two generations, one church, one piece of ground. Today, Perry Cemetery holds 482 graves.

Most of them belong to pioneer families. People who built Carrollton from nothing, who gave land and kept promises and brought their loved ones home to rest together. Sarah Huffman Perry was the first.

But she was far from alone.

What the marker says

This cemetery opened with the burial of Sarah Huffman (Mrs. A. W.) Perry in 1896. Nearby was the Union Baptist Church, which stood on land given by A. W. Perry. On Feb. 18, 1897, he deeded land for this cemetery -- the first burial ground associated with the town of Carrollton. After it opened, a few burials were brought from private sites and reinterred here. The Union Church land was added to the cemetery about 1911, after the church moved away. The Rev. John M. Myers, a son of Union's founding pastor, is buried here with his wife. Most of the 482 graves are for pioneer families.