Rossville Cemetery

Duane's take

The official marker for Rossville Cemetery in Atascosa County tells it like this, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now every piece of ground has a story underneath it, and this one goes back a good ways. It starts with a name you might recognize: Jose Antonio Navarro, Texas statesman, born 1795, died 1871.

He transferred land here along the Atascosa River to his eldest son, Jose Antonio George Navarro. That's J.A.G. Navarro, born 1819, and he held onto it a while.

Then came 1870, and with it, an occasion. J.A.G. gave 160 acres of that land to his daughter Maria Antonia Navarro, born 1845. The occasion was her marriage, celebrated in San Antonio, to a Scotsman by the name of John C.

Ross, born 1839. You don't often hear Scotsman and Atascosa River in the same breath, but there it is. And tucked into the arrangement of that land transfer was something small but significant: one acre, set aside for a cemetery.

After 1873, John Ross and his brother William founded a community right here. They called it Rossville. A town taking shape, families putting down roots, and that one quiet acre waiting.

The first person laid to rest there was Juana Chaves Navarro, born 1820, died 1874. She was the wife of J.A.G. Navarro.

The land her husband had once given away now held her. Other pioneers who had lived in this area before Rossville was ever founded are buried there too. Their family names tell you something about who built this corner of Texas: Alvarez, Bergara, Castanon, Cruz, Galindo, Gonzales, Tabberer, Tober, Riojas, and Stokes.

Among them, Confederate veteran Clemente Galindo, born 1844, died 1881, and his wife Martha Goins Galindo, born 1845, died 1903. Many of their descendants rest there alongside them. Now, by the 1920s, the road to that graveyard had gotten so bad it was often impassable.

So when John Ross died, born 1839, the family buried him not at Rossville Cemetery but at the Episcopal Church Cemetery, one mile east, in the family plot there. His wife Maria Antonia, she came back to the land her father had given her. She is buried at Rossville Cemetery, near the site of their home.

And among the other Navarro, Chaves, and Ross descendants buried there is one more name worth saying out loud. Tom Ross, Texas Ranger Captain, born 1871, died 1946. Son of John and Maria Antonia Ross.

The grandson, in a way, of a 160-acre wedding gift and one reserved acre along the Atascosa River. That acre has been keeping its promise ever since.

What the marker says

Texas statesman Jose Antonio Navarro (1795-1871) transferred land here along the Atascosa River to his eldest son Jose Antonio George Navarro. J.A.G. Navarro (b.1819) then gave 160 acres here to his daughter Maria Antonia Navarro (1845-1922) in 1870, on the occasion of her marriage in San Antonio to Scotsman John C. Ross (1839-1925). One acre at this site was reserved for a cemetery. Ross and his brother William subsequently founded the community of Rossville here after 1873. The first burial was that of Juana Chaves Navarro (1820-1874), wife of J.A.G. Navarro. Other pioneers who lived in this area before the founding of Rossville are buried here. Their family names include Alvarez, Bergara, Castanon, Cruz, Galindo, Gonzales, Tabberer, Tober, Riojas, and Stokes. Confederate veteran Clemente Galindo (1844-1881) and his wife Martha Goins Galindo (1845-1903) are buried here along with many of their descendants. By the 1920s the road to the graveyard was often impassable, so John Ross was buried in the family plot at the Episcopal Church Cemetery (1 mi. E). His wife Maria Antonia is buried here, near their home site. Other Navarro, Chaves, and Ross descendants are also buried here, including Texas Ranger Captain Tom Ross (1871-1946), son of John and Maria Antonia Ross. (1986) Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.