Note:  The History and  information is posted at the gate of the Camilla Hill Cemetery.
        Author unknown.

History:
     "Camilla Cemetery will be 144 years old in 1997.  The earliest birth date and earliest marker
date is that of Samuel McGowen - born 2-1-1790, died 2-23-1853.  There are two markers
unreadable, making a total of 38 markers.
    "Samuel McGowen was born February 1, 1790, in Elbert County, Georgia, and died at
Camilla, Texas, February 23, 1853.  He was the son of John McGowen who died in 1827 in
Mississippi, and the grandson of James McGowen who lived in Abbyville, South Carolina.  Samuel
married Mary Ann Hill, the widow of Dr. Thomas Hill.  Mary Ann had two children by Dr. Hill, and
she and Samuel together had five children.  Samuel was a well-to-do plantation owner.  He sold his
lands in Mississippi and Alabama and moved his family to Texas in 1849 by covered wagon.  His
oldest son, James Henry, was twenty years of age at the time of the move.  James Henry married
Annie Elisa Davis, the daughter of General James Davis.  They had no children, and after her untimely
death, he married Elizabeth Easton Higgason.  The other children of Samuel McGowen were all girls,
and they later married sons of the prominent families in the area.  Sarah Ann McGowen married
Dr. John E. Eckford.  Frances Hannah McGowen married Capt. William Douglas Mitchell, CSA.
Captain Mitchell had land in the Camilla area, some of which is now under Lake Livingston.  Mary
Louise McGowen married Robert Tod Robinson, who owned many acres of land at Point Blank, Texas.
We have no information on his fourth daughter, Julia McGowen.  Mr. McMurry also supplied some
of the detailed information about several of the families."- History Posted at Gate-source unknown.

Cleveland, John Smith  No dates available; married Mary Elizabeth Tipton
Climons, Maria   No dates shown
Eckford, Dr. J. E.  b-May 26, 1826 d- January 18, 1860; age 33
Hale, Dr. L. A.  b-December 10, 1892  d-May 20, 1945; age 52; Mason; married Ollie Dwyer
Hale, James Henry  b-November 21, 1889; d-April 22, 1939; age 39; Mason;
        Tex Pvt 165th Depot Brig, WWI
Hale, Mary Elizabeth  b-1865  d-1904; age 39; married William Bradley Hale;
        father James Henry McGowen; mother Elizabeth Higgason McGowen.
        She was the mother of eight children.
        Her home (dog-trot style) is still standing and is reported to be over 130 years old.
Hale, Ollie Dwyer  b-December 22, 1904 d-March 31, 1943; age 39; married Dr. R. A. Hale
Hale, William Bradley  b-1861  d-1929; age 68; married Mary Elizabeth McGowen;
        father R. A. Hale, mother Elizabeth Hale
Hale, W. G.  b-March 9, 1894   d-July 16, 1954; age 66; Mason
Hanna, Sarah Ann  b-January 15, 1832  d-June 21, 1862; age 30;
        married: 1st Dr. John E. Eckford, 2nd James Hanna; probably Lowndes County, Miss.;
        father Samuel McGowen; mother Mary Ann Conner Hill McGowen
Higgason, J. W.  b-March 19, 1833   d- August ___, 1904; age 71
Hill, John Edwin, Dr.  b-February 29, 1822   d-March 18, 1900; age 78;
        married: 1st Mary Ann Williams; 2nd Sarah Warner Beazley;
        probably born Alabama; father Thomas Hill, mother Mary Ann Conner Hill;
        step-father Samuel McGowen.
        Educated at Franklin Academy in Columbus, MS, and LaGrange College, Tuscumbra, AL;
        graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA, in 1845 at age twenty-three.
Hill, Julia Clayton  b-March 7, 1862  d-May 27, 1864; age 2 years;
        father Dr. John E. Hill; mother Mary Ann Williams Hill.
Hill, Mary Ann  b-December 15, 1829  d-May 26, 1864; age 35;
        married: Dr. John E Hill;
        father John Van Williams, mother Matilda Caroline Williams; born Tennessee.
Hill, Sarah Warner b-July 12, 1846  d-April 22, 1919; age 72;
        married:  Dr. John E. Hill; born San Leon, TX.  Father Dr. Abner George Alexander Beazley;
        She was the mother of Lucy Fairfax Hill and Helena Herbert Hill, and a descendant of the
        Reades, Roots, Warners, and Washingtons, all Colonial Virginia families.
McGowen, J. E.  b-March 16, 1879   d-July 8, 1927; age 48
McGowen, James Henry  b-June 17, 1829  d-June 17, 1886; age 57; Mason;
        married: 1st Anne Elisa Davis (daughter of Gen. James Davis),
                      2nd Elizabeth Easton Higgason (niece of Gen. James Davis and nurse of Anne Elisa); 
        probably born Lowndes County, MS; father Samuel McGowen,
        mother Mary Ann Conner Hill McGowen.
        "A farmer of thousands of acres of land who was kind, considerate, and helped many of the
                farm hands working for him buy land of their own."
McGowen, James Thomas  b-January 29, 1869  d-August 19, 1946; age 77
McGowen, Lizzie E. Higgason  b- 8-15-1834; d 6-21-1892; age 57;
        probably born Monroe County, MS
McGowen, Samuel  b-February 1, 1790   d-February 23, 1853; age 63;
        married: Mary Ann Conner Hill;
        probably born Elbert County, GA; father John McGowen; oldest marker in Camilla Cem.
McGowen, Samuel   b-January 25, 1869  d-February 2, 1869; infant;
        father J. H. McGowen, mother E. E. McGowen
Mitchell, Fannie Davis  b-October __,  1861  d-December 15, 1891
Mitchell, Frances Hannah  b-June 3, 1834  d-January 26, 1918; age 83;
        married: Capt. William Douglas Mitchell, CSA;
        probably born Lowndes County, MS;
        father Samuel McGowen, mother Mary Ann Conner Hill McGowen.