Looking south along Elam Street, you see the intersection with
Sergeant Street and beyond, just to the left of and behind
the fence, the orange netting surrounding the cemetery.
Menard Family Cemetery.
. .620N
On the southwest corner
of the intersection of Sergeant Street
and Elam Street on the old Elmwood Plantation property
Seabrook, TX
~30° 33.51 ~
-95° 02.40
For Information and
Access, contact: Jamie Mize Mr. Mize requests that you schedule your visits and that
visits be limited to family and serious researchers only.
Marker Title: Ritson Morris and Elmwood Plantation
Marker Address: 2400 N. Meyer Rd.
City: Seabrook
County: Harris
Year Marker Erected: 1991
Designations: na
Marker Location: Seabrook Public Library
"Virginia native Ritson Morris (1798-1849) came
to Texas about 1827. He settled first in Nacogdoches, where he
married Minerva Edwards in 1829. One year later, following the
birth of their first child, the Morrises moved to this area, where
Minerva’s father, Amos Edwards, had settled in Stephen F. Austin’s
colony. Morris received a Mexican land grant and established a
3,000-acre plantation he named Elmwood. He raised livestock and
crops, and the family lived in a modest log house. It was later
replaced by a large two-story structure that remained on the site
until about 1885. Minerva Morris’ brother, Ashmore Edwards, built
a home nearby. In 1832 and 1835, Morris participated in skirmishes
against the Mexican army at Anahuac, precedents to the Texas
Revolution of 1836. Morris sent his family to New Orleans for
safety during the revolution, but they later returned and
continued to live on the plantation for many years. Ritson Morris
contracted tuberculosis and died on September 21, 1849. He was
buried in the family cemetery on Elmwood Plantation. Many of his
descendants continue to live in southeast Harris County."
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