Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church South Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place, so take it straight from the source. Now, every community out here in East Texas has got a story, and this one's got two names to start with. The farming community of Pleasant Grove, also known as Shake Rag, took root during the 1850s, planted here in Rusk County by southern planters who came looking for good land and room to build something lasting.

Among the first to put down roots were Judge Stephen Decatur Morris, born in 1819, and his wife Mary, born in 1823. On their plantation, before there was even a proper church building to speak of, the early Methodist worship services in this area were being held. Folks gathered in that plantation setting, finding their faith in the middle of new and uncertain country.

Then about 1853, a sanctuary was built for the Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the community had a place to call its own. The cemetery came later. It was established here in 1873, and the first burial recorded was James Bradford Morris, born in 1856, the son of Stephen and Mary themselves.

That is a heavy thing to carry, being among the first settlers of a place, and seeing the cemetery begin with one of your own. Over time, others joined James in that ground. Dr.

Richard H.C. Shelton, described as an eminent southwestern surgeon, rests here. Friends, relatives of Stephen and Mary, and pioneer settlers who built this corner of Rusk County, all of them recorded in this quiet piece of earth.

In 1877, church trustees Seaton Moore, Simpson Moore, and G.D. Boatwright made it official, purchasing this land for the church and cemetery. That is the kind of act that says a community intends to stay.

But communities change. The Pleasant Grove church eventually disbanded, its remaining members folding into St. Paul's Methodist Church in Henderson, eleven miles to the northeast.

And by 1929, the year of the last burial in this graveyard, most Methodist families had moved on to using the City Cemetery in Henderson. So here it sits. Mary Morris lived until 1906.

Stephen until 1898. The last burial was in 1929. The church is gone.

And yet the Pleasant Grove cemetery remains, the marker tells us, an important part of the record of early settlement in this part of Rusk County. Some places earn their importance not by growin, but by staying put while everything else moves on.

What the marker says

The East Texas farming community of Pleasant Grove, also known as "Shake Rag", was established during the 1850s by southern planters. Among the first settlers were Judge Stephen Decatur Morris (1819-1898) and his wife, Mary (Bradford) (1823-1906), on whose plantation early Methodist worship services in the area were held. About 1853, a sanctuary for the Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was built. The Methodist cemetery was established here in 1873, with the burial of James Bradford Morris (b. 1856). He was the son of Stephen and Mary Morris. Others buried here include Dr. Richard H.C. Shelton, an eminent southwestern surgeon; other friends and relatives of Stephen and Mary Morris; and pioneer settlers. Church trustees Seaton Moore, Simpson Moore, and G.D. Boatwright purchased this land for the church and cemetery in 1877. The Pleasant Grove church eventually disbanded, with the remaining members joining St. Paul's Methodist Church in Henderson (11 mi. NE). By 1929, the year of the last burial in this graveyard, most Methodist families were using the City Cemetery in Henderson. The Pleasant Grove cemetery remains an important part of the record of early settlement in this part of Rusk County. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986