Grapeland, Houston County
Alabama native Joseph A. (also Joe, Jo or Josephus) Parker settled in East Texas by 1847. In October of that year, he wed Nancy Ann Allen in Cherokee County. The Parkers were living in Houston County by 1850, and the 1860 census listed them as having six children. Residents of the Jones Schoolhouse Community, the family used this site as a cemetery for their friends and relatives. The earliest marked graves are for W.R. Norred (d.1864) and Herbert Foard (d. 1869). Nancy’s father, John Allen, and many of his descendants are also buried in the cemetery. Ben Parker, grandson of Joe and Nancy, and his wife, Nannie, officially deeded the land for use as a cemetery in September 1914. At that time, the burial ground became a community cemetery. In the 1960s, hired caretakers moved the red fieldstones that marked many of the gravesites. Oral tradition holds that Joseph Parker is buried in one of the many unmarked graves. Former slaves are also buried here. Today, a cemetery association maintains the burial ground. Cemetery features include large, vertical stone markers and wrought iron fencing. The cemetery preserves the ties between the Parker family and the community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003