Ellison Family Graveyard

The first settler in this part of Eastland County, James Madison Ellison (1840-1923) built a cabin near Ellison Springs in 1858. He married Eliza Jane McGough and was a stock farmer in this area for half a century. As a young man, he was permanently disabled while serving in a militia company defending frontier homes against hostile Indian attack. Ellison established this cemetery after the death of his mother Nancy Baird Ellison (1818-1876), a native of Georgia and midwife for her pioneer neighbors. Although intended for family burials, the plot has always been available to friends and others in need. An unknown child, from a family who camped on Ellison's land as they moved west, died of pneumonia and was buried here. Ellison's son John, his younger son J.T., killed in a fight over a horse, and his daughter Lanie are among the 12 family members interred here. The cemetery contains 26 graves in all. In 1901 the land was legally deeded for use as a graveyard. In 1918 petroleum was discovered in the county, and Ellison leased his land for oil exploration. He moved to the Rio Grande Valley with a granddaughter and her family, and bought a citrus farm. He died there in 1923 and now lies buried in the family cemetery. (1977)

Ellison Family Graveyard is a historical marker in Gorman vicinity, Eastland County, dedicated in 1977. It is one of 46 historical markers documented in Eastland County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 60 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.2368, -98.6297 near Gorman vicinity. The nearest cataloged historic site is Ellison Springs (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Site of Blackwell Hospital, Old Shinoak Springs, and Desdemona Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5133001462. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.