Historical Marker
Connell Cemetery
Brownwood vicinity, Brown County · Texas
Erected 1997
William Connell's service record is fuller than the plaque's summary. A county historical commission page has him a private in the volunteer army of Texas from September 1835, then a private in Captain Billingsly's ranger company from September to December 1836, honorably discharged from both. He later served as Brown County treasurer, holding the office by appointment until February 1876. He and his wife Loumisa Wills raised eleven children; he died on May 17, 1882, and she on April 29, 1899. Both are buried here.
What the plaque says
Connell Cemetery William Connell came to Texas with his family in 1834. He later served in the Republic of Texas Army, the Texas Rangers, and the Confederate Army. Connell Cemetery, believed to be one of the oldest in Brown County, was probably in use before 1861. When William and Loumisa Wills Connell buried their son William Archibald in 1866, they erected what is believed to have been the first headstone on this site. The last was that of Edward Bruce McCallum, dated 1949. Sixteen families are noted; over twenty graves remain unmarked. Connell Cemetery was deeded to Brown County in 1893. (1997)
Where it stands
31.70252, -98.93913 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Lake Brownwood State Park — 12 miA CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.
More markers nearby
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- Dr. Mollie W. Armstrong — 2.4 mi
- Old Gray Mare Band — 2.6 mi
- Brooke Smith — 2.6 mi