Henderson County Texas

Welcome to the Henderson County TXGenWeb site. My name is Laura Gregory Roberts. I am the Volunteer County Coordinator for Henderson County, Jane Keppler, co-coordinator .  We hope that with the help of the fine folks of the county, we will be able to make this a site that helps all that visit. 

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Shelby Chapel Cemetery
Henderson County Texas

History of the Shelby Chapel Cemetery

The oldest marked grave is that of an infant. The Infant Horn died Feb 1897 and more than likely is the child of Jeff D. and S. Ella Horn. The second oldest marked grave is that of Mary Ellen (Shelby) Hawkins who died Jun 1899, wife of Raymond Robert Hawkins. She was the daughter of James Madison Shelby (more than likely where name of cemetery came from) and his wife Amanda Ann Henderson. The third oldest marked grave is that of another infant, Infant Rogers died in Dec 1899 and is the son of Henry E. and Mary E. Rogers. If you have any further information about this cemetery or you know of an older burial..please contact Laura Gregory Roberts

Enumeration

On these pages your will find everyone buried here starting from A - Z.
Birth records, Marriage Records, Death Records, Obituaries, Headstone photos, Military headstone photos, Census Records, Family sites links, Military Records, Tax/Land Records, Newspaper articles, Family portraits and more have been added.

As of 2/26/2024 there are over 1,000 memorials on Find-A-Grave

Another Shelby Chapel Transcription Link                           Laura Gregory Roberts Transcription to Shelby Chapel Cemetery

Historical Marker James Madison Shelby (1814-1889), a native of North Carolina, moved with his large family from Alabama to Texas in the 1870s. They first lived in Smith County, then moved to southeastern Henderson County. There they established a Presbyterian church named Morrison Chapel for the minister who preached there. Services were held in the home of James and Amanda Ann Henderson Shelby until a small building was erected. Church members buried their loved ones in an adjoining cemetery. James Madison Shelby was interred in Morrison Chapel Cemetery upon his death. The extended Shelby family relocated again in 1891, this time to an area three miles northeast of the center of Athens. Amanda Ann Henderson Shelby lived with her daughter and son-in-law, Jeff Decal and Susan Ella Shelby Horn. Mrs. Shelby gave the Horns seven acres of land, reserving two acres for a Presbyterian church and cemetery. Religious services were held in the Horn home until Thomas Dunklin, another Shelby son-in-law, received the contract to construct a church building called Shelby Chapel in 1895. Amanda A. Shelby died in 1896 and was interred with her husband. The first burial in Shelby Chapel Cemetery was that of J. D. and Susan Horn's infant son in 1897. Shelby Chapel and the Athens Cumberland Presbyterian Church were united between 1901 and 1905. The church remained Presbyterian until 1964 when it became a non-denominational community church. Many armed forces veterans are interred here, including Confederate soldiers. Members of Shelby Chapel and their descendants continue to be interred in the cemetery, which remains as a chronicle of area settlers. (1999)
	Photos courtesy of Laura Gregory Roberts

Photos

Photos of this cemetery wanted

Click on name to see photo
photos donated by Jan:  jleemaraist@sbglobal.net

Veterans Buried at Shelby Chapel Cemetery
Under Construction!
Harrison Samuel Arnett SEA1 US Navay WWII 1900 - 1977	Bass, Ernest Oran	Bass, Lain Winston
Bass JR, Ollie Gude Find-A-Grave obit	Caldwell, John B    22 Aug 1894-29-Nov-1917	Cason, Billy Jack Find-A-Grave obit
Charlie B. Calhoun WW I 15 Apr 1897 2 Mar 1959	Dixon, Hugh Find-a-Grave obit	Gary Wayne Everett TX PFC Co "B" 9 INF 25 INF Div Vietnam SS-BSM-PH 29 Apr 1948 22 Dec 1968 Killed in Action
Arthur Earl Gaunt US Army US Navy WWII Korea 7 Aug 1923 4 Mar 1999	Stanley H. Hall US Army Air Corps WWII 13 Aug 1923 - 20 Mar 1990
Hall, Virgil G. "Bud"  1 May 1916- 29 Dec 2009 Find-A-Grave obit	Weldon G. Hall TEC 5 US Army WWII 13 Jul 1923 - 23 Jul 1987	Hart, Stanley Ray
Ike S. Hart TX GM1 US Navy WWII 22 Dec 1920 - 24 Jul 1967	Robert R Hawkins 25- Oct 18 1840 -  29 Apr 1923 CSA Civil War Soldier: 2nd Regiment, Florida Cavalry, Company G, Private	Haynes, James Wilson "Jim"  6 Jan 1930 - 22 May 2020 Find-A-Grave obit
Hodge, Henry Curtis 13 May 1937 - 11 Mar 1962 Find-A-Grave	William F. Hodge Kansas Horshoer Sup Co 9 INF WW I and WWII 12 Dec 1892 - 8 Jun 1961	Jackson, Chester Travis "Dock Find-A-Grave
Tom W. Kirk US Army WW I 2 Jul 1892 - 5 Jan 1978	George R. Langston TX WW I 18 Mar 1897 11 Dec 19??	Lawson, Riley Leroy "Buck Find-A-Grave
	Eugene Andrew Malone PFC US Army Air Corps WWII 24 Nov 1923 26 Feb 1993	Hoyle F. Norman PFC 3405 3rd MAM CO WW II 9 Oct 1916 - 6 May 1974
Israel Perkins PFC US Army WWII 14 Jan 1920 - 6 Feb 1982	E. J. Ponder Texas WW II 19 Dec 1918 24 Sep 1957
George Rash MSGT US Army WWII 23 May 1910 - 12 Apr 1980	George W. "Skipper" Rash 26 Jun 1942 - 13 May 196?	John Jefferson Ray WWI Find-A-Grave with obit
	Dan Wesley Shirey 12-Dec-1944 -- 21- Jan-2019 Find-A-Grave with obit	Fred Shuttleworth 5 Feb 1931 - 5 Aug 1989 Find-A-Grave
James David "J.D." Simons 25 Nov 1930 - 8 Mar 2009 Find-A-Grave with obit	G Leslie "Pinky" Smith III 28 Jul 1939 - 27 Mar 2012 Find-A-Grave	Bruce A. Tanner PVT US Army WWII 12 Jul 1926 12 Jun 1993
Thomas Jefferson Thornton 11 Dec 1890 - 18 May - 1952 Find-A-Grave
Charlie Earnest Walker US Army WW I 24 Mar 1896 8 Jun 1978	Clarence R. Walls SGT US Army WWII 21 Jan 1917 28 May 1974	U V Wallace PFC US Army WWII 23 Aug 1923 - 5 Dec 1991
Bonner Willbank 28 Jul 1923  - 18 Jul 1980	Robert FranklinWillingham 9 Sep 1927 - 22 May 2009 Find-A-Grave with obit
Veterans and Markers contributed by Laura Gregory Roberts.

Contact Information

Marcelle Simmons
903-675-5323

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