ALLEN CEMETERY - ALLEN
McDermott
Drive (FM2170)
Latitude 33 06 02N
Longitude 96 39 55 W
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas,
by Joy Gough
The town of Allen was started around 1872
when the railroad went through. It was named for Ebenezer Allen, who was
attorney general of Texas.
The cemetery was started by Lodge No. 249
of the IOOF, International Order of Odd Fellows, in 1884 when it purchased land
from John Whisenant. Blue Ridge, Nevada, Farmersville, and Princeton also have
IOOF cemeteries. There are several deeds for the cemetery. One deed is recorded
in Vol 413, p 388. It adds an additional 1.17 acres of land to the cemetery and
shows the plat map on page 389.
The cemetery has a large stone entrance
and an iron fence across the front. It covers about 3 acres of land. Cottonwood
Creek runs behind it.
The oldest marked grave is for Rebecca Hamilton, who died
in 1883. It is said that there were burials before that time. In the southeast
end there is a small plot where slaves were once buried. The markers for the
slaves have been lost.
The cemetery has a historical marker and is well taken
care of. The city of Allen maintains the cemetery. It is still active. There is
an Allen Cemetery Association. The cemetery has a Decoration Day every year.
Historical marker, 1988.
ALLEN CEMETERY
LOCATED ON LAND PURCHASED FROM MR. AND
MRS. JOHN W.
WHISENANT, THIS CEMETERY WAS FORMALLY
ESTABLISHED
ON APRIL 5, 1884, BY THE INTERNATIONAL
ORDER OF ODD
FELLOWS, LOCAL LODGE NO. 249. ENCOMPASSING
ALMOST
THREE ACRES OF LAND, THE CEMETERY HAS
SERVED THE
ALLEN COMMUNITY FOR OVER A CENTURY.
THE OLDEST LEGIBLE GRAVE MARKER HERE IS
THAT OF
REBECCA L. HAMILTON (D. 1883), ALTHOUGH
LOCAL ORAL TRADI-
TION HOLDS THAT EARLIER GRAVES MAY EXIST,
INCLUDING
A SLAVE BURIAL GROUND IN THE SOUTHEAST
CORNER OF
THE PROPERTY.
TOMSTONE INSCRIPTIONS REVEAL EVIDENCE OF
EARLY
EPIDEMICS AND INCLUDE THE NAMES OF A
NUMBER OF
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS. ROBERT J.
CUFFMAN (D. 1918)
WAS KILLED IN THE MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE
IN WORLD
WAR I. MAHLON BRACKNEY SERVED IN THE
SPANISH-AMERICAN
WAR. ALSO REPRESENTED ON GRAVE MARKERS
HERE ARE
NOTABLE EARLY CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY,
INCLUDING
PERMELIA FORD, A PIONEER SETTLER, AND
DOCTORS H. N.
COMPTON AND WILLIAM F. WOLFORD.
THE ALLEN
CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, ORGANIZED IN 1899,
CARES FOR THE HISTORIC GRAVEYARD AND
SPONSORS AN
ANNUAL DECORATION DAY.
Allen
CEMETERY INDEX
Recommended citation:
Allen Cemetery - Allen,
"CEMETERIES OF COLLIN COUNTY." Collin County,
Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries,
Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
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