Terry Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Terry Cemetery in San Saba County. Pull over a spell, because this one starts with a long road and ends quietly in the ground. In 1859, a man named Stephen Woodson Terry, born in 1828, packed up his family and made the move from Tennessee to Texas.

His wife Volumnia Jane, born in 1830 and a granddaughter of Revolutionary War soldier Brittain Adams, came right alongside him. They were among the first pioneers to arrive in this part of the country, and the land they settled would hold their family name for generations. Stephen was no idle homesteader either.

He served the community as a member of the frontier organization, and he rose to become the tenth Sheriff of San Saba County. That is the kind of man who plants roots deep. The cemetery that carries the Terry name has been a resting place for Terry descendants and family friends since 1880, and the story of that first burial is the kind that settles heavy in your chest.

The first person laid to rest there was Pocahontas Terry, daughter of Volumnia and Stephen, born in 1869. She was ten years old. Some beginnings are also endings, and a family cemetery that opens with a child reminds you what it cost these early families just to stay.

Stephen himself lived until 1913. Volumnia passed in 1901. They are there too, along with others who followed.

Among the notable burials is Lloyd Warden Terry, who served San Saba County as both County Judge and County Attorney for twenty-seven years. The Terry Cemetery is still there, still holding its ground, still telling you who got here first and what it asked of them.

What the marker says

The Terry Cemetery exists as a reminder of the first pioneers to arrive in this area. In 1859, Stephen Woodson Terry (1828-1913) and wife Volumnia Jane (Adams) (1830-1901), granddaughter of Revolutionary War Soldier Brittain Adams, moved their family to Texas from Tennessee. The cemetery has served as a resting place for Terry descendants and family friends since 1880. The first burial is that of Pocahontas Terry (1869-1880), the ten-year-old daughter of Volumnia and Stephen. Stephen served the community as a member of the frontier organization and as the tenth Sheriff of San Saba County. Notable burials include Lloyd Warden Terry who served as County Judge and County Attorney for 27 years.