Texas Historical Marker #13245
McNeir Cemetery. Also known as McNeir Family Cemetery, this burial ground is the final resting place for Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix and her descendants. Her father, known as Major Ridge, was a Cherokee chief in Georgia. He and others were assassinated in 1839 over a controversial treaty. Sarah came to Texas in 1848 with her husband George Washington Paschal and settled in Galveston. There, in 1850, she treated yellow fever victims using a Cherokee remedy. She also divorced Paschal the same year. In 1856, she wed Charles Sisson Pix and moved to Smith Point, where their son, Charles Forest Pix, was born in 1857. Tradition holds that at the age of seven, Charles Forest planted an acorn near the Pix home, and the resulting live oak tree later shaded the site of his grave. Although he died in 1874, his father, who had abandoned his family, delayed permission for the burial on the land until the next year. The site later passed to Emily Agnes Paschal McNeir, Sarah's daughter. Emily's husband, William, was the second buried here in what became known as McNeir Cemetery. Family members continue to maintain the small burial ground as a link to their rich history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004 #13245
?, Smith Point, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #09130
Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix. Born on the family plantation in the Cherokee Nation near present Rome, Georgia, Sarah Ridge (1814-1891) attended mission schools and girls' seminary. Her father Major Ridge was a Cherokee leader and friend of Sam Houston. Major Ridge, Sarah's brother John, and cousin were later assassinated for supporting the treaty which traded Indian lands for acreage in the West. This treaty led to the infamous "Trail of Tears." Sarah married a lawyer, George Washington Paschal, in 1837 and they settled in Arkansas. In 1847 the family and slaves moved to Galveston. During the 1850 yellow fever epidemic Sarah opened her home and treated many of the ill with an Indian remedy. After Sarah and Paschal were divorced, she married Charles C. Sisson Pix, an Englishman, in 1856 in the home of Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar. Sarah traded her Galveston home for this land of smith Point soon after her marriage. Pix cattle ranged from here to present Liberty. While Pix served in the Confederate Army, Sarah built the ranch into a large operation. With the end of slavery, the ranch declined. After Sarah divorced Pix in 1880, she remained on the ranch with her widowed daughter Agnes Paschal McNeir and two grandsons. Heirs still own the land. #9130
?, Smith Point, TX, United States