On this page:Sources, History, Often Confused, Current Conditions.
Latest update: Monday, 27 October, 2014
Evergreen Cemetery
near Edgar, DeWitt Co, TEXAS
aka Edgar Cemetery near Edgar
aka Edgar Colored Cemetery
aka Evergreen Cemetery near Cuero
Latitude: 29.22560, Longitude: -97.22890
Sources
• African American Cemeteries Database Project -
Survey
• Afroamerican Funeral Records, Part Ii, Dewitt County, Jamison Funeral Home @
TXGenWeb
Survey from Jamison Funeral Home records 1915-1928
• FindAGrave.com - survey
[Currently the FindAGrave listings for the
Evergreen Cemetery near Edgar are in disarray
due to a posters confusion between the
other cemeteries near Edgar, DeWitt Co,
TEXAS., In addition, these submissions are
unsourced.]
• TopoZone
N 29.22585 and W -97.22917.
HISTORY
??? The Evergreen Cemetery, just off Highway 77 in the Edgar, DeWitt Co, TEXAS
community, was established as a "Negro" cemetery; the first documented burial was
in 1910 and the last was in ????
The Evergreen Cemetery near Edgar has been "surveyed" by James A. LUCAS at
the Victoria Regional History Center (VRHC), Victoria College University of Houston-
Victoria (VCUHV) Library, African American Cemeteries Database Project (AACD
Project): Edgar Cemetery. [When researching with the AACD Project, confirm data
with Death Certificates.]
In addition, many of the burials for those in the Evergreen Cemetery near Edgar were
managed by the Jamison Funeral Home
(M C Jamison Funeral Home, 802 Irvine Street, Yoakum, [DeWitt Co] Texas 77995,
361-293-3121), which began business in 1915 and closed its doors in August 2013.
And the Jamison Funeral Home has provided their records, including the funeral
home Record and Bill of Items, to the TXGenWeb.
The Victoria Advocate, Article and Video
"100-year-old Yoakum funeral home closes" [ in pdf ]
Victoria Advocate [Newspaper] Victoria, Victoria Co, TEXAS
The following is a list of the first documented burials in the Evergreen Cemetery near
Edgar; this cemetery was first used almost fifty years AFTER our EDGAR Family
Cemetery. [Images of Death Certificates are posted to the left.]
HOLLAND, Harriat / Harriet / Harriett
Died 10 Feb 1910
Undertaker: T. M. GATINA [?] Yoakum
Place of Burial or Removal: "Yoakum"
GREEN, Joe Willie
Died 31 Jul 1911
Undertaker: G. H. RAYMOND, Cuero
Place of Burial or Removal: "Cuero"
DRAKE, Nick Jr.
Died 29 Sep 1911
Undertaker: [Not identified]
Place of Burial or Removal: "Edgar Col Cem." [Edgar Colored Cemetery]
CAMPBELL, Willie
Died 21 Feb 1914
Undertaker: A. E. BECK, Yoakum, Texas
Place of Burial or Removal: "Edgar Cem."
MOSLEY, Ida VANCE.
Died 21 Oct 1915
Undertaker: None identified.
[Note J. S. EDGAR's signature for the Registrar]
Place of Burial or Removal: [None identified]
SHINER, Eliza MILTON
Died 22 Nov 1917
Undertaker: JAMISON & POLK, Yoakum, Texas
Place of Burial or Removal? "Edgar Tx."
Often Confused
• The Evergreen Cemetery near Edgar, DeWitt Co, TEXAS has been confused with
the Evergreen Cemetery that is part of the Hillside Cemetery in Cuero, DeWitt Co,
TEXAS. Both cemeteries were originally designated for "Negros."
• The Evergreen Cemetery near Edgar is also often confused with the old EDGAR
Family Cemetery documented on this website. A study of the death certificates
[Images on the left] of several first documented burials reveals one reason for the
confusion. The funeral homes -- especially Jamison Funeral Home -- recorded the
"Place of Burial or Removal" as "Edgar," so the Evergreen Cemetery near Edgar
wasn't designated as "Evergreen" in the earliest years. And, since one of the earliest
recorded entries for the Evergreen Cemetery near Edgar showed "Edgar Col. Cem.,"
it came to be referenced simply by its location of Edgar, TEXAS, which evolved into
the term "Edgar Cemetery," which was the only known African American cemetery in
the Edgar community.
When the use of the name "Evergreen" began is still a mystery. One possibility is
that when segregation was ending, it was deemed important for the cemetery to have
a name. Perhaps there was some connection to the African American cemetery near
Hillside Cemetery in Cuero, DeWitt Co, TEXAS. Perhaps whoever was doing the
naming just liked the name Evergreen. By 1947, the Death Certificate of Joice Marie
LEWIS FORD [Image on the left.] identified her place of burial as "Evergreen near
Cuero," which is certainly the subject Evergreen Cemetery, identified by the location
"near Cuero" since the community of Edgar had faded to insignificnce.
"The local post office was also established in 1888. In 1890 the community
had daily mail delivered by rail, a general store, and a population of
twenty-five, and by 1915 a reported 100 residents supported a Wells Fargo
office, at least one store, the school, and a cotton gin; the community also
had telephone service… The Edgar post office was discontinued in 1940,
and the school closed in 1951. Only fifty people were recorded as living in
Edgar from the mid-1920s to the late 1940s; thereafter, no population
figures were available for several decades..."
Edgar, Texas, The Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Asso.
There's no doubt that the subject cemetery's official name is now Evergreen
Cemetery and its location is shown near Edgar, DeWitt Co, TEXAS.. [See map
Sources above.] And, there's also no doubt that over many years, it was known, at
least to the African American undertaker in Yoakum, as simply the Edgar Cemetery.
Current Conditions
Robert Merritte WEBB, the 3X Great Grandson of James EDGAR, the patriarch of the
old EDGAR Family Cemetery, and his wife Jane ADAM WEBB visited the Edgar
Evergreen Cemetery in March 2013 and reported the following: "There are very few
grave markers, and nearly all of them are unreadable. There is only one legible
gravestone, that of Johnnie McKNIGHT. [Photo to the left.] The Cemetery has been
virtually abandoned. Nice view in the distance." [See photos.]