MELISSA CEMETERY - MELISSA
33.288N 96.585W
33.288N 96.585W
This is a large, unfenced cemetery. The stones are a distance from the road, although the cemetery is expanding into the land next to the road. The cemetery has a historical marker. There is a deed listed in Vol 41, p 375. The Melissa Cemetery Corporation bought 11 1/3 acres of land from L. A. Scott.
In the northeast corner of this cemetery is the entrance for the St. Paul Colored Cemetery. COLLIN COUNTY CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS I calls it the North Melissa Cemetery. The historical markers for the Melissa Cemetery and for the St. Paul Baptist Church in Melissa clearly call it the St. Paul Cemetery.
This cemetery was started in conjunction with the Sherley family, who were early settlers in the area. They are probably relatives of the famous Belle Starr, who was a Sherley and lived around here. The creek behind the cemetery is the Shirley branch.
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, by Joy Gough
In the northeast corner of this cemetery is the entrance for the St. Paul Colored Cemetery. COLLIN COUNTY CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS I calls it the North Melissa Cemetery. The historical markers for the Melissa Cemetery and for the St. Paul Baptist Church in Melissa clearly call it the St. Paul Cemetery.
This cemetery was started in conjunction with the Sherley family, who were early settlers in the area. They are probably relatives of the famous Belle Starr, who was a Sherley and lived around here. The creek behind the cemetery is the Shirley branch.
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, by Joy Gough
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MELISSA CEMETERY
THIS CEMETERY HAS BEEN THE PRIMARY BURIAL GROUND FOR MEMBERS OF THE MELISSA COMMUNITY FOR GENERA- TIONS. ITS ORIGIN CAN BE TRACED TO THE PIONEER SHERLEY/ SHIRLEY FAMILY, ALTHOUGH THE SPECIFIC DATE OF ITS FOUNDING IS UNKNOWN. THE OLDEST GRAVES IN THE CEMETERY ARE THOSE OF WILLIAM M. SHERLEY (1856), LEWIS SHERLEY (1867), AND ALBERT SHIRLEY (1879). THEY MAY HAVE ORIGINALLY BEEN BURIED IN A FAMILY CEMETERY ON THE NEARBY FARM OF LEWIS SHERLEY AND RELOCATED TO THIS SITE WHEN THE MELISSA CEMETERY WAS FORMALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1889. ALSO BURIED IN THE SHERLEY FAMILY CEMETERY WERE A NUMBER OF FAMILY SLAVES, AND THAT SITE BE- CAME THE NEARBY ST. PAUL CEMETERY. A NUMBER OF MELISSA RESIDENTS WERE INTERRED HERE PRIOR TO THE OFFICIAL DESIGNATION OF THE CEMETERY AS A PUBLIC BURIAL GROUND IN 1889. ACCORDING TO LOCAL TRADITION A RAILROAD WORKER WHO DIED IN 1872 IS BURIED HERE IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE. MANY PIONEER RESIDENTS OF MELISSA ARE INTERRED IN THIS CEMETERY, INCLUDING CONFEDERATE CAPTAIN THOMAS M. SCOTT AND VETERANS OF THE MEXICAN WAR, CIVIL WAR, WORLD WAR I, AND WORLD WAR II. THE MELISSA CEMETERY ASSOCIATION CARES FOR THE HISTORIC GRAVEYARD. Texas Historical marker, 1989. Incised on the reverse: Board of Directors Joe D. Loftice, Pres. Clyde Crouch, V. Pres. Mary Hellen Miller Bewley, Sect. Willena Milrany Moore, Treas. J. Doyle Cave Raymond RAttan Powell Sue Evelyn Rattan Gary Whitworth Research and Written By Diane McVey Miller |
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