DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Plantersville Cemetery has to say — and there's more here than you might expect from a quiet patch of ground in Grimes County. Settlers from the southern United States started making their way into this part of Texas as early as the 1830s. By 1856, the community had grown enough to warrant a post office, and it needed a name.
That name came from a woman called Sarah Greene, who suggested Plantersville — a nod to the local planters who were shaping this corner of the state. Members of her family are buried in this very cemetery, which tells you something about how deep those roots go. Now, the cemetery itself.
The oldest marked grave belongs to a young man — H.G. Jameson, interred here as early as 1864. Young.
That word is the marker's, and it hangs in the air a little, doesn't it. At least three other gravesites date to that same year, and there may be earlier ones out there — unmarked, unnamed, their stories swallowed by time. Two years later, in 1866, a man named Peter Walton — landowner, postmaster — donated the land so this place could serve the whole community as a proper cemetery.
It was enlarged in 1911, and again in 1958, because communities keep going, and the ground keeps filling. Among those buried here is Mary Benigna Durst Blake, born 1830, died 1864 — daughter of John Marie Durst, a figure of the Texas Revolution. Beside her, at least for a time, rested her husband, General Thomas Walter Blake, born 1822 — circuit rider and lawyer.
He died in 1905. He was later reinterred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. So he left this ground, but she never did.
Today, the Plantersville Cemetery holds pioneers and their descendants, military veterans, and notable Texas families. It was designated a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2003. And it is still in use — still accepting the community's dead, still keeping faith with everyone already there.
Some places are just land. This one is a link. The marker says so, and the dates carved into these stones don't argue the point.
What the marker says
Settlers from the southern United States began arriving in this area as early as the 1830s. A post office opened in 1856 as Plantersville, a name suggested by Sarah Greene to honor local planters. Members of her family are buried here. This site was used as early as 1864 as a burial ground when young H.G. Jameson was interred here; his is the oldest marked grave. At least three other gravesites date to that same year, and there may be earlier ones unmarked. In 1866, landowner and postmaster Peter Walton donated the land for use as a community cemetery, later enlarged in 1911 and 1958. Today, this burial ground is the final resting place of pioneers and their descendants, military veterans, and notable Texas families. Mary Benigna Durst Blake (1830-1864), daughter of Texas Revolution figure John Marie Durst, and her husband Gen. Thomas Walter Blake (1822-1905), a circuit rider and lawyer, were both buried here (he was later reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin). Still in use, the Plantersville Cemetery remains a link to the community's history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003