​Magnolia Cemetery

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Marker No: 11659

Aluminum 18x 28 Subject Marker

Geographic: 31.659834,-95.737999

Location: 10.3 miles northwest of Elkhart on SH 294

Marker Text: As is often the case with early African American cemeteries because of the status of Africans and African Americans in pioneer and plantation society, documentation of the Magnolia Cemetery's origin is scarce. A strong tradition of oral history provides what information is available. It is believed that the land for the Magnolia Cemetery was given by farmer E. P. Murray and that the oldest marked grave is that of former slave Isham Murray, who was born in 1805 and died in 1880. His wife Laura reportedly was buried with their white slaveowners. At least sixteen other African Americans born between 1813 and 1856, probably all former slaves, are interred here. Others buried here include nine veterans of World War I, as well as veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. (2000)