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Tennessee native Abraham Roberts wed Cynthia Jeffrey in Alabama in 1828. The couple arrived in Seguin, Texas, ten years later with their family. In 1840, Roberts purchased land on Tinney's Creek in what was then Gonzales County. He and other area residents petitioned the Texas Legislature to create a new county, which was formed in 1847 and named Caldwell. That year the Roberts family made the first burial on family property when granddaughter Martha Ellison died while visiting them. The family and local residents soon began using the site as a community burial ground. There are conflicting stories about the origins of the cemetery name and about which family gave the land for the site, but a 1921 deed cited acreage conveyed earlier to a cemetery association. In 1938, the community officially adopted the name Jeffrey Cemetery and elected officers to a board of trustees. Today, an association maintains the site and continues traditional homecomings for families and friends of those buried here. Among the several hundred graves are the names of veterans of military service dating to the U.S.-Mexican War, as well as generations of area residents. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004 |
