The names on the graves are part of Collin County's history. The dates go back as far as 1798. But they were almost forgotten due to neglect and time.
Ken Byler, a local author, said part of the reason the graves at the Ross Cemetery in McKinney were forgotten was that all the people buried there are black.
"If you were a citizen of Collin County, and you happened to be black, and you died, this is where you were buried," he said.
Byler was doing research one day, looking for the gravestone belonging to his friend's father. When we went to the Ross Cemetery, he said he couldn't even see the tombstones because of the weeds and trash.
"It was growed up," he said. "It had obviously been vandalized; tombstones stolen, knocked over."
He finally found the gravestone of John Jones.
Jones was one of the thousands of black Americans who served in World War I. Byler said he learned during his research that Jones, who survived the battlefields of World War I, was shot back at home by white residents in a dispute over hog meat.
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Byler said the incident was never investigated because of racial inequalities of the 1920s.
When Byler wrote a column about his research, members of the Allen Heritage Guild got involved. A group called the Ross Cemetery Association was soon re-meeting, with members such as Jesse McGowan, Dr. Willie Wattley, Florene Henry and Lettie Robinson pushing to get the cemetery cleaned up.
Two months ago, Byler said trash started being hauled away, and the lawn was cut.
On Memorial Day 2009, the work paid off when the more than 50 veterans buried at the cemetery were honored, Byler said.
"It's the first time they've ever been honored with for their sacrifice with a flag on their grave," he said.
