St John Cemetery

San Augustine Co., Cemeteries of TX

Submitted and photos by Christine H. Sowell and Shawndra R. Sowell- Revised: 10/2008

Feature ID: Name: Class: Latitude Longitude Map Name

2099584 Saint John Cemetery Cemetery 31.3894000 - 312322N- -94.3075000- 0941827W- Chireno South

Located approximately 19 miles southwest of San Augustine, Texas, near the Attoyac River. From San Augustine, take 147 South 11 miles to Hwy. 103. Turn right, going west on Hwy. 103, traveling 8 miles to CR 3250. A green sign that reads "St. John Cemetery" sits to the left of Hwy. 103, at CR 3250. Turn right onto CR 3250. However, travel along CR 3250’s winding dirt road 4 tenths of a mile. Immediately to the left, you will see another road with an entrance gate. A sign is available to direct you to the cemetery. This road leads to St. John Cemetery, which is located beyond the gate. Situated to the right on CR 3250 is St. John Baptist Church, a small white-painted building. The cemetery sits on approximately 2 acres of land and is enclosed within a chain-link fence.

Founder: Sallie Weeks

First Grave: Believed to be that of a worker on the Weeks farm worker who died after 1880.

History: St. John Cemetery is invariably tied to the settlement of St. John Community beginning in the year 1840. Several distinct families settled in St. John Community, including:- Hiram and Rachael Sowell;- Marshall and Clara Weeks;- Jack and Henrietta Hunt; Hall and Amanda Hawkins; Mannie and Henrietta Garrett; Lee and Becky Cartwright;

Slavery was still in existence before 1865, so the land surrounding St. John Cemetery could not be officially purchased until after 1865. Although several ancestors of the various family lines were deceased prior to the purchase of the land, family members were buried in and around the property. When a Mexican man who worked on the Weeks farm passed, Sallie Weeks realized there was a need for a community cemetery because the founding families produced offspring that married into each other’s family lines. She ordered that the worker be buried at the foot of a cedar tree. Sallie’s father, Marshall Weeks, verbally set aside the area on the Weeks farm to establish a family cemetery for all family members who resided in the community.

From research of church records, from information gained from discussions with descendants of ancestors buried there, a conclusion was reached that more than 75 persons are known to have been buried in St. John Cemetery. It is almost a certainty there were other burials for which there are no known records. Many of the known burials no longer have markers. Still others never had any type of identifying materials. The oldest grave may be that of Hyram Sowell, who died in October, 1869 from pneumonia.

Today, St. John Cemetery is an active cemetery with burials as recent as 2008. While it contains family burial plots for several families that seem to be grouped together in a particular section of the cemetery, any family member may be interred in any available area. Each descent or family member simply chooses where they or their loved one wishes to be placed at the time of their or their loved one’s passing. No particular spot is reserved. Availability of a particular lot space is on a first-come, first serve basis.

St. John Cemetery still has the look and feel of a quiet small-town cemetery. It contains the known graves of men who served in various branches of military service in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. St. John Cemetery is a lovely, serene part of St. John Community. Responsibility for general upkeep of the cemetery has been assumed by descendants of people buried there and organized in 2008 as the St. John Cemetery Association, Unincorporated, a non-profit unincorporated association created to preserve relevant local history and maintain the cemetery property. Cemetery upkeep is paid from private donations.