ST. JOHN'S CEMETERY (TENAHA)
Also known as Saint John Cemetery or Saint John Baptist Church Cemetery
Tenaha, Shelby County, Texas, USA
About
-
Get directions Booker T. Washington Drive / Cemetery Lane & Masonic Street, Tenaha, Shelby County, TexasCoordinates: 31.93741, -94.25091
- Cemetery ID:
-
Additional information
Researchers and visitors should note that the eastern and southern perimeters of the active burial grid are heavily encroached upon by dense native timber and undergrowth. Numerous historical graves are demarcated by weathered, unengraved depressions or native fieldstone levelers that match traditional early 20th-century East Texas burial customs. Please cross-reference all custom text search variables under both "Saint John" and "St. John's" to ensure comprehensive family tracking.
Members have Contributed
Photos
No additional photos.
Add PhotosSt. John's Cemetery (also historically referred to locally as Saint John Cemetery or Saint John Baptist Church Cemetery) is a foundational African American Freedmen burial ground situated in the southern quadrant of the town of Tenaha, Shelby County, Texas. Located directly behind the historic St. John Baptist Church off South George Bowers Drive (US-96), the cemetery footprint spans eastward along the dense timbered margins of Cemetery Lane and Booker T. Washington Drive.
Established as a centralized community sanctuary in the late 19th century, this historic churchyard serves as the final resting place for the multi-generational family networks who built, cleared, and sustained the independent agricultural and timber-mill districts of northern Shelby County. Prominent foundational surname clusters anchored within the cemetery grid include the Cartwright, Burnley, Bowman, Davis, and Evans lineages. Notable early interments include maternal matriarch Anna Cartwright (1904–1926) and community elder Eliza Bowman Burnley (1871–1970), whose early records were traditionally handled by regional historic institutions such as the Hicks Funeral Home.
Due to the lack of an official master directory on global mapping platforms, numerous individual memorials were historically registered by descendants using unlinked custom text entries. This master directory page serves to permanently anchor these floating records to their precise global GPS coordinates, ensuring the physical protection, spatial preservation, and ongoing historical recognition of the nearly 90 community members resting within the boundaries of this sacred Freedmen sanctuary.
St. John's Cemetery (also historically referred to locally as Saint John Cemetery or Saint John Baptist Church Cemetery) is a foundational African American Freedmen burial ground situated in the southern quadrant of the town of Tenaha, Shelby County, Texas. Located directly behind the historic St. John Baptist Church off South George Bowers Drive (US-96), the cemetery footprint spans eastward along the dense timbered margins of Cemetery Lane and Booker T. Washington Drive.
Established as a centralized community sanctuary in the late 19th century, this historic churchyard serves as the final resting place for the multi-generational family networks who built, cleared, and sustained the independent agricultural and timber-mill districts of northern Shelby County. Prominent foundational surname clusters anchored within the cemetery grid include the Cartwright, Burnley, Bowman, Davis, and Evans lineages. Notable early interments include maternal matriarch Anna Cartwright (1904–1926) and community elder Eliza Bowman Burnley (1871–1970), whose early records were traditionally handled by regional historic institutions such as the Hicks Funeral Home.
Due to the lack of an official master directory on global mapping platforms, numerous individual memorials were historically registered by descendants using unlinked custom text entries. This master directory page serves to permanently anchor these floating records to their precise global GPS coordinates, ensuring the physical protection, spatial preservation, and ongoing historical recognition of the nearly 90 community members resting within the boundaries of this sacred Freedmen sanctuary.
Nearby cemeteries
- Added: 1 Sep 2026
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2871320
Success
Uploading...
Waiting...
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this cemetery already has 20 photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this cemetery
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this cemetery
Invalid File Type
Birth and death years unknown.
1 photo picked...
2 photos picked...
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
This photo is larger than 20 MB. Please resize to less than 20 MB and try again.
Too many photos have been uploaded
"Unsupported file type"
• ##count## of 0 memorials with GPS displayed. Double click on map to view more.No cemeteries found