Anderson County's Ft. Houston Cemetery

The community of which the Ft. Houston Cemetery is part, began when 500 acres of land was donated in 1835 for the town of Houston in Anderson County, Texas. The original Fort Houston was a stockade and blockhouse of the Republic of Texas located at a site on current Farm Road 1990 two miles west of Palestine. The fort was built on the public square of Houston, Anderson County, by Texas Rangers and completed in 1836. The town later became known as Ft. Houston after the settlement declined when Palestine became the county seat. State historical markers have been placed at the townsite and the Ft. Houston Cemetery.

LINDSEY B.
CLARK

AUG. 4, 1889
NOV. 30, 1918

MEMBER OF
THE U.S. NAVY

FATHER R. F. HEATH DEC. 11, 1824 JULY 8, 1911

MOTHER FANNIE HEATH FEB. 13, 1837 OCT. 30, 1915

1 LIEUT
T. B. SLAUGHTER

CO. A
3 BN GA SHARP
SHOOTERS
C.S.A.

Pilgrim Cemetery - Elkhart, Texas

Daniel Parker and a group of settlers from Crawford County, Illinois came to Texas in 1833, establishing the newly organized Pilgrim Regular Predestinarian Baptist Church with its adjacent cemetery. The log church pictured above is a replica of the original built in 1848 a short distance from the present day community of Elkhart in Anderson County, Texas. Pilgrim Church is reportedly the first Baptist church in Texas.

REV. DANIEL PARKER

Pioneer Baptist Minister
Born in Virginia
April 6, 1761
Died December 3, 1844

His Wife
PATSY DIXON PARKER
Born January 17, 1783
Died December 1, 1846

Daniel Parker's brother James was granted a league of land north of present Groesbeck, Texas on April 1, 1835. There he and other members of the Parker family established a fort on the headwaters of the Navasota River in current Limestone County. On May 19, 1836, the Parker family became famous when the inhabitants of the fort were massacred by Comanche indians. Daniel's brothers Silas and Benjamin Parker along with their father John were killed and five family members were taken as hostages. One of those hostages, Cynthia Ann Parker, lived with the Comanches for approximately 25 years and married chief Peta Nocoma. Cynthia Ann Parker and Peta Nocoma were parents of the famous Comanche chief Quanah Parker.

ELIZA KENNEDY Sep. 3, 1819 Dec. 24, 1881 At Rest

Our Mother REBECCA BIRD Wife of J. W. WILSON 1857 - 1923

RACHEL Daughter of DANIAL PARKER Wife of MILES BENNETT Sept. 27, 1821 Dec. 23, 1843 First Person Buried in this Cemetery

Read more about the Parkers at the Handbook of Texas Online.