Montague
Overview of the Montague Settlement in San Jacinto County, Texas
The Montague Cemetery (established ~1890s) serves as a focal point for
an informal cluster of rural homesteads and family plots in
southeastern San Jacinto County, near the Liberty County line. This
area, often referred to locally as the "Montague area" or "Montague
community" in cemetery records and oral histories, represents a small,
late-19th-century enclave of Anglo-American and European immigrant
farmers tied to the lumber and farming boom along the Trinity River
watershed.Historical context: San Jacinto County, formed in 1870 from
Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, and Walker counties, was a frontier Piney
Woods region with early settlements (1830s–1850s) focused on headright
grants for timber, cotton, and cattle. The Montague area emerged later
(~1880s–1890s), post-Civil War, as railroads (e.g., Houston East and
West Texas Railway) opened the southeast for logging yellow pine and
small-scale agriculture. It was part of the broader Cleveland (Liberty
County) trading zone, with ~10–15 families by 1900. Challenges included
flooding from nearby Lake Livingston (impounded 1963), yellow fever
(1890s outbreaks), and economic ties to Houston markets. The
"settlement" was never formalized—no church, school, or post office
named Montague, but the cemetery anchors family legacies.
Today, it's unincorporated woodland/farmland, partially within the
Angelina National Forest fringes, used for hunting and
recreation.Economy: Subsistence farming (corn, vegetables, hogs), pine
logging for ties/boards, and river ferrying to Liberty County.
Post-1900, oil prospecting (Tarkington field nearby) drew transients.
No enslaved labor documented; post-emancipation, African American
sharecroppers (~10% of households per 1900 census) worked adjacent
tracts.
Location and Coordinates
San Jacinto County, ~3 miles north of the Liberty County line, along
the east side of FM 1725 (a rural farm road). Centered on the Montague
Cemetery, ~14 miles east-southeast of New Waverly (Walker County) and
~12 miles northwest of Cleveland (Liberty County). The area spans
~320–640 acres of homestead grants along Tarkington Creek tributaries,
with sandy-loam soils at ~150–200 ft elevation.
Modern landmarks: East side of FM 1725, between McGinnis Road (north)
and Fostoria Tram Road (south). Nearest town: Cleveland, TX (Liberty
Co.). Access: From I-45, take TX-150 east ~20 miles to FM 1725 south ~5
miles.
Key sites: Montague Cemetery ~20–30 burials,
est. 1890s); no other structures remain—homesteads reverted to timber.
Early Founders and Families: Biographies
The Montague area was settled
by interconnected families from Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana,
migrating via the Gulf Coast in the 1870s–1880s for cheap land
(~$1–2/acre). They were mostly Protestant (Baptist/Methodist), with
bios drawn from 1880–1910 censuses, Liberty/San Jacinto deeds, and Find
a Grave memorials. No single "founder" dominates; it was a loose
alliance around the Montague kin, who donated cemetery land. ~8–12
households by 1900; intermarriages with Cleveland families.
The Montague Family (Primary Anchors)Likely named for early grantee
John or William Montague (variants of "Montgomery" in some deeds); no
direct tie to Daniel Montague (namesake of Montague County, north
Texas). They were farmers/loggers, clearing tracts for mixed-use.
John Montague (c. 1845–1908): Presumed patriarch; Alabama-born farmer.
Migrated to Texas ~1870 via Liberty County; received 160-acre
preemption claim on Tarkington Creek (1878 deed). Operated small saw
pit for pine boards; grew corn/hogs on 200 acres by 1880. Confederate
veteran (Co. F, 11th Alabama Infantry; wounded at Shiloh 1862). Married
Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Smith (b. 1850, MS; d. 1912); 6 children.
Community mediator; hosted barn dances. Donated 1-acre for Montague
Cemetery (1895). Died of heart failure; first burial in family plot.
William "Bill" Montague (1872–1945): Son of John; expanded holdings.
Born in Liberty Co.; inherited 100 acres, added via 1900 purchase.
Shifted to turpentine extraction (1880s boom); 4 children with wife
Sarah Jane "Sadie" Pickering (b. 1875, TX; d. 1938; m. 1895). Baptist;
school board member for Oak Grove District (1900s). Survived 1911
flood; oral histories credit him with cemetery maintenance. Buried
Montague; descendants in Cleveland.
Elizabeth Montague Pickering (1880–1952): Daughter of John; community
matriarch. Married Robert Pickering (b. 1875, LA; d. 1940; logger); 5
children. Managed homestead during husband's rail work (HE&WT,
1900s). Known for herbal remedies; aided in 1897 fever epidemic. Buried
Montague.
Allied Founding FamiliesThese settled adjacent (1880–1900), sharing
labor for logging/ferrying. Mostly Southern migrants; ~5 enslaved
pre-1865 in extended kin, per 1860 Liberty census.
Pickering
Robert Pickering (1875–1940)
LA-born logger/ferryman. Arrived 1890; 80-acre claim near creek. Hauled
timber to Cleveland; family of 7 with Elizabeth Montague (m. 1898).
Methodist; volunteer firefighter (1900s woods fires).
Married into Montagues; co-maintained cemetery.
Adjacent east: 30°29.6' N, 94°59.0' W; FM 1725 frontage.
Tarkington
James Tarkington (1855–1920)
MS migrant; namesake of creek. Settled 1885; 320 acres for
cotton/vegetables. 3 children with wife Anna (b. 1860). Confederate
orphan (father killed 1863).
Neighbor; traded livestock with John Montague.
Creek head: 30°30' N, 95°00' W; tied to Liberty surveys.
McGinnis
Elias McGinnis (1860–1935)
Irish-TX descent; farmer. 1890 arrival; 100 acres. Grew peaches (1890s export). Wife Martha (b. 1865); 4 children.
Road namesake; alliances via Oak Grove Church (Methodist, 1900).
North edge: 30°30.5' N, 94°59.5' W; McGinnis Rd.
Foster
William Foster (1840–1910)
AL-born Civil War vet (Co. B, 10th AL Cav.). Settled 1875; tram road builder for lumber. 2 children; widowed.
South neighbor; joint logging ops with Montagues.
South: 30°29.0' N, 94°59.5' W; Fostoria Tram Rd.
Smith
Rev. Elias Smith (1830–1895)
TN preacher/farmer. Migrated 1880; 160 acres. Organized Baptist outpost (1890s). Wife unknown; 5 children.
Mary's father-in-law; donated sermons for burials.
West: 30°29.4' N, 95°00' W; church site lost.
African American families (e.g., Johnson kin, post-1880 freedmen)
sharecropped nearby; 1900 census notes ~3 households, but bios
sparse—e.g., Levi Johnson (b. 1865, TX; logger).Legacy and Preservation
Cemeteries: Montague Cemetery (~25 graves; 1895–present; maintained by
descendants). Historic Texas Cemetery designation (1998); unmarked
stones common. Nearby: Oak Grove Cemetery (30°28' N, 94°58' W; ~100
graves).
Historical Markers: None specific; Liberty County markers (e.g.,
Tarkington) reference shared history. San Jacinto Historical Commission
notes it in 1997 cemetery survey.
Modern Traces: Family descendants (~100 via FamilySearch) in
Cleveland/Houston; annual cleanups via Find a Grave volunteers. Area
now timber leases; oil wells active.
Sources for Further Research: TXGenWeb San Jacinto Cemeteries
This micro-settlement illustrates late-frontier family networks in East
Texas, preserved through burial grounds. For deeper family trees,
consult Liberty County ties (adjacent).
