Pause for a moment and consider the lives intertwined in the Herring-Hogge Cemetery. This small plot of land tells a big story. It whispers tales of pioneer families. The Herring-Hogge Cemetery began in the 1870s. Daniel Herring donated the land. He wanted a final resting place for his family and neighbors.
Daniel Herring was quite a man. He was born in 1812 in North Carolina. Daniel arrived in Texas on Christmas Eve 1848. He came with his wife Mary and their four children. The Herrings received 640 acres in Collin and Dallas Counties. William Sachse was his neighbor.
Daniel built his home on the highest point of his land. It was near what is now Murphy. First, he built a log home. Then, in 1862, he built a two-story frame house. Daniel was a man of many talents. He was a local horticulturist. He had his own vineyard and wine press. He even grew tobacco.
Daniel married Mary Deck in 1833. They had ten children together. Sadly, Mary passed away in 1858 at age 39. She is not buried here. She rests at the Maxwell Decatur Cemetery. Daniel remarried later that same year. His second wife was Elizabeth “Eliza” Newman. Together they had nine more children. In total, Daniel fathered 19 children. Seventeen of them lived to adulthood.
Daniel Herring passed away in 1882. He is buried here in the Herring-Hogge Cemetery. His second wife Eliza is also buried here. She passed away in 1935. She remarried L.D. Emberton in 1887.
The Herring and Hogge families are the primary inhabitants of this cemetery. One of Daniel’s daughters married a Hogge. This joining further intertwined the families. The Hogge name was originally spelled “Hogue”. The postmaster of Dump changed it. He wanted to distance himself from an “unsavory person” with the same name.
This cemetery is small. It measures about 40 by 80 feet. A wrought-iron fence surrounds it. The cemetery faces Murphy Road. Some new stones have replaced older ones. The old stones lie flat on the ground.
Five of Daniel Herring’s descendants married five of William Sachse’s descendants. This further intertwined the two families. They became part of the collective histories of Sachse and Murphy.
The earliest graves date back to 1874. This cemetery is a testament to the lives of these early settlers. It is a reminder of their hardships and triumphs. Take a moment to appreciate their legacy.