McGARRAH CEMETERY - McKINNEY
Old McGarrah Lane, Stonebridge
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, by Joy
Gough
George McGarrah
was one of the earliest residents in the area. He came to Collin County about
1842. His twin brother, John, started a store and the town of Buckner. The
historical marker for Buckner is on US 380 about 1 ½ miles west of US 75.
Buckner was about 2 miles northeast of this cemetery.
This cemetery has a historical marker. The descendants of George McGarrah set
aside 1/7 acre of land to be used for the family cemetery when the land was
sold. The deed is listed in Vol 330, p 195. This area was once called the Bowlby
community.
This cemetery was the subject of a court case several years ago when the
developers of Stonebridge Ranch wanted to remove the bodies and reinter them at
Pecan Grove Memorial Park in McKinney. They said the cemetery would interfere
with their golf course. The relatives won the case to keep the cemetery here and
the developers built the 6-foot stone fence around the cemetery. The cemetery
was very neglected at that time. It is well taken care of now. A neighbor has a
key to the cemetery gate for visitors.
This cemetery has an active cemetery association as a result of the law suit.
I have heard this cemetery referred to as the McGarrah/Ottenhausen Cemetery.
George McGarrah's daughter, Harriet, married Henry Ottenhausen (Ottenhouse).
There are 10 people buried here, including George McGarrah and his wife and 5
Ottenhausens.
Historical
marker, 1988
GEORGE
McGARRAH CEMETERY
A MEMBER OF
THE PETERS COLONY, GEORGE McGARRAH
(1804-1879)
BROUGHT HIS FAMILY TO THIS AREA IN THE
1840S. PRIOR
TO HIS ARRIVAL IN TEXAS, McGARRAH HAD LIVED
IN
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS, WHERE HE IS CREDITED WITH
HELPING TO
BUILD MANY OF THE HISTORIC STRUCTURES
STILL EXTANT
IN THAT CITY.
McGARRAH'S
WIFE HAD DIED IN ARKANSAS IN 1838 WHILE
GIVING BIRTH
TO THEIR DAUGHTER, HARRIETT. GEORGE McGARRAH
AND HIS THREE
CHILDREN ESTABLISHED A NEW HOME NEAR
THIS SITE, AND
HE LATER MARRIED SARAH FORD.
THE McGARRAH
CEMETERY CONTAINS TEN GRAVES. GEORGE
McGARRAH HAD
SET ASIDE ONE-SEVENTH OF AN ACRE OF HIS
LAND TO BE
USED FOR A FAMILY CEMETERY. HE WAS THE
FIRST PERSON
BURIED HERE, IN 1879. TWO OF HIS GRAND-
CHILDREN,
GEORGE W. (1870-1887) AND MATTIE A. (1874-1894)
OTTENHAUSEN,
CHILDREN OF HARRIETT McGARRAH AND HER
HUSBAND HENRY
OTTENHAUSEN, WERE THE NEXT INTERRED
IN THE FAMILY
PLOT. SARAH FORD McGARRAH WAS BURIED
NEXT TO HER
HUSBAND IN 1896. ALSO INTERRED HERE ARE
HARRIETT
McGARRAH OTTENHAUSEN (1838-1930), HENRY
OTTENHAUSEN
(1839-1911), AND HIS MOTHER, CHRISTINA
OUSEKOFF
OTTENHAUSEN (1810-1904). THERE ARE THREE
UNMARKED
BURIALS, ONE OF WHICH IS THAT OF A SLAVE.
CEMETERY
INDEX
Recommended
citation:
McGarrah
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 ].
| 