Younger Cemetery
by Margarette Berry Hutchins

Younger Cemetery, located off Highway 31 just west of Silver City, Texas had its beginning as a family cemetery in 1854 when George Worthington Younger, oldest son of Alexander and Jane Hancock Younger, was buried on the family farm.  Numerous members of the family are buried there in what is referred to in the deeds as "Old Younger Cemetery".  Adjoining this area on the east is another tract that was set aside for the slaves.  This area is now known as Woodward Cemetery and is still being used as a public burying ground.

My childhood memories include "cemetery workings".  At that time and for many more years, on the second Friday in May, relatives and friends of those who are buried there brought their hoes and rakes, hammers and shovels and cleaned the grounds, repaired fences and straightened tombstones.

At what point Younger became a community cemetery there seems to be no extant records.  Nor is there any record of an organizational meeting to form the Association.  The first minutes available are dated May 1921 and in that same month the Younger Cemetery Association was named in a deed from B. H. and John C. Ragsdale in which one acre and one half acres dated January 30, 1935.  Again on May 15, 1939, J. S. Callicutt gave one acre of land to the Younger Cemetery Association.  On June 11, 1958, the generosity of the Callicutt family was again demonstrated when Julia Callicutt deeded one and four tenth acres to Younger Cemetery, part of which reads, "Beginning at the SW corner of the old part of the cemetery, being SE corner of the First Addition, and the NE corner of the second addition".

By various gifts by Younger descendents earlier than these mentioned; on January 20, 1965, the cemetery contained 7.309 acres.  There has been one additional purchase of 1.985 acres in 1976.

At present this is a well fenced, beautifully kept cemetery where relatives and friends still meet on the second Friday in May for a memorial service, much good fellowship and an abundance of food prepared by the best cooks I have ever known.