Shiloh-McCutcheon Cemetery

Historical Narrative

I CONTEXT

Shiloh-McCutcheon Cemetery is located southeast of the Williamson County Courthouse in Georgetown near the town of Hutto, Texas on 163 off State FM 1660. The cemetery sits on a small hill, the only significant rise in the area, and is fenced with an entrance on the north end of the cemetery.

The community of Shiloh sprang up on the banks of Brushy Creek. It was located near Wilbarger Crossing, later called Shiloh Crossing and Rogan Crossing. The small community which the cemetery originally served no longer exists; however, it predated Hutto. The demise of Shiloh may be in part due to the founding of Hutto as families relocated to that nearby town as the railroad made its entry into the area. The Shiloh settlement dates to 1848 when Nelson Morey and Josiah Taylor established stores in the area along Brushy Creek.

The land where the cemetery sits was part of an original land grant #9575 for 1852 acres issued to the heirs of William Gatlin, “who was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Texas and was killed at the defeat of Col. Fannin by the Mexican Army.”

II. OVERVIEW

Located near Hutto, Williamson County, Texas the community of Shiloh consisted of a school, a church, two stores and a few residents who lived on or near Brushy Creek. This area was a cattle crossing during the days following the Civil War but before that it had been a major route taken by many as they advanced southward through Texas. The residents of Shiloh made up some of the first settlers of Hutto once its railroad came through. Many of the early families who lived in Shiloh were buried or have relatives who were buried in Shiloh-McCutcheon Cemetery known as both the Shiloh Cemetery and the McCutcheon Cemetery during the earlier years. However, the first burial in the cemetery was attributed to the death of a woman passing through the area. The first recorded burial was that of Josiah Kuykendall who became ill with smallpox after a traveler spent the night at the Kuykendall home. Josiah’s brother Mark, who lived nearby came to care for his brother during the illness. They both died and were buried in the Shiloh Cemetery in 1853.

Even though the cemetery had been in existence from at least the time of the 1853 burials of the Kuykendall brothers, the land was not deeded as a cemetery until February 5, 1890. William McCutcheon to Shiloh Cemetery by Warranty Deed on February 5, 1890, filed February 13, 1890 at 9AM, Vol. 52 Page 205 Deed Records of Williamson County, Texas. William McCutcheon formally deeded the land for a cemetery with trustees, F. F. Farley, Green Randolph and William Rogan.5 Two of the original trustees, F. F. Farley and William Rogan are buried in the Shiloh-McCutcheon Cemetery. 6 Green Randolph died in the Territory of New Mexico on January 3, 1893 and is buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Las Cruces New Mexico.

William McCutcheon was born in Davidson County, Tennessee on December 25, 1812. His parents were William and Catherine Cynthia Overton Avery McCutcheon. Son William came to Texas with his older half-brother Willis Avery in 1832 and the following year his mother, Catherine (Overton), her third husband Gordon C. Jennings and their four children joined William and Willis. William met and married Elizabeth Jane Harrell in 1835. Elizabeth was the daughter of Jesse Harrell and niece of Jacob Harrell, who was her guardian after the death of her parents. Jacob Harrell came to Texas in 1834 and lived in Travis and Williamson Counties. William and Elizabeth were the parents of 13 children, Willis, Mary Jane, John “Jack”, Jesse Anderson, Sarah, Joseph Thomas, George Aubrey, William Franklin, Fannie Ellen, Elizabeth Alzada, James Walter, Beauregard, and Jefferson Davis. 8 William, his wife, Elizabeth Jane, and six of their children, John, Jesse Anderson, Joseph Thomas, George, Fannie E., and Jeff, are buried in the cemetery.

Residents buried in Shiloh-McCutcheon Cemetery include the families and descendants of William Downing, Thomas A. Evans, William T. Evans, W. H. Farley, Jack Hyslop, Josiah Kuykendall, William McCutcheon, William Rogan, and Josiah Taylor. In addition, there are numerous other family names represented in the cemetery.

III. SIGNIFICANCE

Shiloh-McCutcheon Cemetery is significant because it documents the families who lived or passed through the small community. Once the community no longer

existed, it documented the families who remained in the area. The five (5) tombstones in a row of the Hyslop family, who all died within a 12 month period, plus six (6) other deaths at that time, suggest that there was some type of tragic illness. In all there are at least 30 identified burials of children fifteen or younger, and there are likely many more whose identifying markers have been lost over time.

The cemetery also documents the existence of William and Elizabeth Jane (Harrell) McCutcheon and six (6) of their thirteen (13) children who are buried there. The McCutcheons were large landholders in the area surrounding the cemetery and several miles to the north of it, also in the area between Norman’s Crossing and Rice’s Crossing. William and many of his children, especially John, owned significant amounts of land in this area.

Several of the other children owned or controlled land in the West Texas area around Fort Davis. Willis, the oldest of the McCutcheon sons, had taken up ranching near Victoria, but kept hearing about some Texas mountains with good grass in West Texas. In the 1870s Willis along with his brothers, William and Jeff McCutcheon rode west until they found the Davis Mountains. They liked what they saw and immediately claimed a lot of good land north of Fort Davis. Jeff, the youngest of the brothers, got sick, died and was taken back to Shiloh for burial. Later William, brother to the Jeff and Willis, was killed by a freight hauler over some burros. On Christmas of 1882, Willis rode back to Central Texas where most of the family lived, and convinced brothers, Beau and Jim to come to West Texas. When they got there, they acquired large amounts of land.

The only burials permitted today are ashes of people who are direct descendants of persons already buried there. This is because of the large number of unmarked graves.

The city of Hutto, in its rapidly expanding borders, is approaching the cemetery on the north, south, and west. Near its southern and western borders, Hutto Independent School District has built two schools. To the north and west, Hutto is expanding its housing population and its borders.

This cemetery is a part of the early history of a significant area of Williamson County. As the city of Hutto envelops the cemetery, it is important and necessary that a historical marker be in place for the public to be aware of this history.