Benjamin Rush Milam, born in Kentucky 1788. Soldier in the War of 1812. Trader with the Texas Comanche Indians, 1818. Colonel in the Long Expedition in 1820. Empresario from 1826 to 1835.

Benjamin Rush Milam participated in the capture of Goliad, October 9, 1835; was killed in San Antonio December 7, 1835 while commanding the Texas forces which later captured the town.

Who will follow Old Ben Milam into San Antonio?

(Front):
Benjamin Rush Milam

(Right):
Preeminent Hero of Texas a man of rare initiative and courage. Of a modest and willing personality a devoted friend. Born in Frankford Kentucky in 1788 a soldier in the War of 1812.

(Back):
Trader with the Texas Comanche Indians in 1818 was a Colonel in the long Tresplacious Expedition in 1820. Texas Colonizer 1826 to 1835. First navigator of the upper Red River in 1831.

(Left):
Assisted in the capture of Goliad October ninth 1835. Planned the attack on San Antonio and was killed on December seventh 1835 while commanding the Texas Forces which later captured the town.

Stephen Bennett (1789-1874), a veteran of the War of 1812, and his wife Mary Ann "Polly" Breazeal Bennett (1798-1877), were born in South Carolina and lived many years in Alabama. They led a wagon train to Washington County in the Republic of Texas about 1841. They soon relocated to a part of Gonzales County which later became Lavaca County. Stephen Bennett became a successful farmer and prominent citizen.

The first burial on this site is believed to have taken place in 1846 when Stephen and Polly Bennett buried their oldest daughter, Sarah Bennett (1819-1846). Other family members, friends and neighbors had been buried here by 1871 when the Bennetts deeded one acre of their homestead to their seven surviving children for use as a burial ground. The oldest marked burials are those of Lucy L. Dyer (1830-1873) and William M. McMurrey (1806-1873).

The Bennett children left their mark on Lavaca County as prominent physicians, cattlemen, soldiers, county officials, Masons and teachers. After the youngest daughter, Mary A. Bennett McCutcheon, died in 1884, the family land was passed to her two sons, Willis McCutcheon, Jr., and B.B. McCutcheon. They later sold a portion of the family land, legally setting aside two and one-half acres for the cemetery. The last known Bennett relative to be buried here was William L. Tolleson (1851-1915). The last known interment on this site took place in 1977. The graveyard also has been known as Pioneer Cemetery, McCutcheon Cemetery, Sweet Home (City) Cemetery, and Bennett-Tolleson Pioneer Cemetery.

Established in 1867 as a final resting place for William Bonner, Dr. John Bonner, and their descendants. The two brothers, natives of South Carolina, came to Texas in the early 1850s, settling in Freestone County. Here they massed thousands of acres of land which they developed into great cotton plantations.

Patriarch of the Texas Bonners was William Bonner (1783-1877), who started his career as a waggoner. With a modest education and no financial help, he piloted his Texas land investments into a fortune.

A veteran of the War of 1812, he married Ann Lee Joel in 1816. Of their eleven children, seven chose to live in this area. William Bonner was a staunch Presbyterian who was known for his shrewd judgment, unusual energy, humor, and common sense.

John Bonner (1794-1879) was one of three physicians among the five Bonner brothers. A person of great intelligence, he scorned sham and ignorance. He and his wife Eliza (Williams) had nine children, seven of whom moved to Freestone County with them.

Among the five generations of Bonners interred here are teachers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, and farmers. For over a century the family has figured prominently in the development of Freestone County.

Chosen commissary by General Andrew Jackson, War of 1812. Edward Burleson, his son, accompanied him as bookkeeper. Participated in the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. Served under his son, Edward, Army of Texas in the Grass Fight, 1835. Born May 4, 1758; died January 3, 1836.

In 1831, Richard Carter (1789-1863), Virginia native and War of 1812 veteran, came from Alabama and received a grant of land within the Stephen F. Austin Colony at the site of what is now the City of College Station. He became one of the area's wealthiest land and slave owners, raising cattle, corn, and cotton during the years before the Civil War. Carter was appointed to the first Board of Commissioners after Brazos County was created in 1841 and helped survey Boonville, its first county seat. Evidence of the Carter home and the family cemetery has been found in this area.

Date of earliest burial is not known: oldest headstone, 1853. Site (7A.) was deeded to the city in 1870 as an existent graveyard. Burials here included Benjamin Beason, one of Austin's "Old 300" colonists: W.B. DeWees, also in "Old 300," founder of Columbus; 1830s historian Dilue Rose and husband, Sheriff Ira Harris; Gen. Augustus Jones, War of 1812 and Texas War for Independence veteran; Dr. John G. Logue, known as founder of the first drugstore in Texas, 1845; The Rev. Jacob Scherer, founder, in 1857, of Colorado College; many Confederate soldiers; and victims of 1873 yellow fever epidemic.

Margarette Wills, her slaves and her son James S. Wills came to this area in 1845. Dr. James S. Wills is credited with the establishment of the Cotton Gin community in 1848. According to family history, Dr. Wills gave the land for a public cemetery with separate sections for Anglo and African Americans. Though it is likely that there were earlier burials, the oldest legible gravestone in the Anglo section is that of Mary Manning, who died in 1854 at 59. The next identifiable death date is that of an infant daughter of J.W. and A.A. Story, buried in 1858. Among the military veterans interred here is Abraham Roland (ca.1794-1868), who fought in the War of 1812. There are at least 67 Civil War veterans interred here, as well as veterans of other major conflicts.

War of 1812 veteran John Dewberry came to Texas in 1835 and was listed as a resident of Tyler by 1845. A successful businessman and cotton farmer, he served on the commission to locate county boundaries and a county seat after the creation of Smith County in 1846. This Greek Revival house, which Dewberry named "Myrtle-Vale," was begun in 1852 and served as headquarters for his large cotton plantation. A rare surviving example in the county of a two-story antebellum residence, the Dewberry house remained in the family until 1908.

Born in Virginia, Elijah Collard later settled on the frontier in Kentucky and in Missouri, where he fought in the War of 1812. Collard migrated to Texas in 1833. He was elected to the Consultation at San Felipe in 1835 and served on the General Council. In 1837, when Montgomery County was created, he was named one of the first commissioners. In 1840 he moved to Walker County, where he died. Collard married Mary Stark in Kentucky. They had 11 children.