HERNDON CEMETERY - McKINNEY
West Virginia
Parkway
Cemeteries of
Collin County, Texas, Joy Gough
The Herndon Cemetery is about
½ mile north of the Collin County Poor Farm Cemetery, 1 mile north of the
Williams Cemetery, 1 mile south of the Buckner Cemetery and 1 mile northeast of
the McGarrah Cemetery.
The Herndon family is one of the oldest families in the county. George and James
Herndon married sisters of Jack McGarrah, who started the town of Buckner. The
Herndons arrived in Collin County on election day in 1847. George and his wife
Cynthia had a child 5 weeks later. James settled here and George settled
southwest of here in the southern part of Stonebridge. The creek that crosses
Foncine Rd./Hardin Blvd. south of Virginia Parkway is the Herndon Branch. The
hill down to the creek on Virginia Parkway is called Herndon Hill. George
Herndon had a cemetery on his property, but the graves were moved to Rowlett
Creek Cemetery in 1923.
This cemetery contains 3 known graves – those of James Herndon and his wife
Elizabeth McGarrah, and their daughter, Ellen N. Montgomery. The stones are in
numerous pieces but the writing is still legible. The cemetery itself has not
been used for dumping, but the edge of the field near the cemetery has been. It
is rumored that there is an Indian Burial Ground east of the family cemetery
that has bois d'arc markers. They were not visible on my visit.
All of the land around the cemetery as far north as US 380 is undeveloped and
belongs to various members of the Crutcher family. The cemetery is mentioned in
a couple of early deeds as a point to measure from. However, no deed has been
found for the cemetery itself.
According to a newspaper
article printed in the McKinney Examiner in 1949, the oldest burial in the
county is supposed to be in this cemetery. It is said to be the grave of Ellen
N. Montgomery, a daughter of James Herndon and the wife of John Montgomery. They
are saying she died in 1853. Her stone says she died in 1881, unless it is a
different Mrs. J. C. Montgomery. There were numerous burials in Collin County
before 1853. The article also claims that the first white child born in Collin
County was George Henry Herndon. He would have been born in December of 1847.
There were other white children born in Collin County before 1847.
CEMETERY
INDEX
Recommended citation:
Herndon Cemetery - McKinney, "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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