The earliest known burial is that of John Austin WHARTON, brother of William Harris WHARTON, who died 27 Dec 1838. William died a few months later, 14 Mar 1839. (Click on "View The Tombstone" above for a location of the original family plot)

    Sarah Groce WHARTON remained in possession of Eagle Island Plantation after the death of her husband, William Harris WHARTON, until the early 1870's.  About 1873 Sarah asked her nephew, William Wharton GROCE, to move in and take over.  Sarah died in 1878 and willed the plantation to her nephew. In 1883 William W. GROCE stated the graves of William H. and John A. WHARTON were covered with flat marble slabs and were in good condition. (Source: "Autobiography of a Spoon" by Sarah Wharton Groce BERLET)

    In 1881 William Wharton GROCE sold 3,125 acres to Harris MASTERSON, son of early Brazoria Co pioneer Thomas Gilbert MASTERSON, to pay off debts incurred by Sarah WHARTON before her death.  William did retain the residence including 200 acres of land as a homestead.  Thomas G. MASTERSON sold the 3,125 acres to a northern syndicate who in turn subdivided the property into small farms and sold them.  By 1892 the land was no longer owned by a WHARTON or GROCE.  The property was eventually acquired by the Brazoria County Cemetery Association and Restwood Memorial Park was initiated when the first burial plot was sold in January 1946. (Source: "Location of the Earliest Wharton Family Cemetery at Eagle Island Plantation," by Johnney T. Pollan, Jr.)

"..Across the lake is the old family grave yard, which was kept up in their life time, where some of the most prominent people of Texas are buried among them Dr. Branch T. Archer, whose request was to be buried with Whartons, whom he loved so well. Col. John A. Wharton, the San Jancinto veteran, "the Keenest Blade on the Field of San Jacinto," is buried there, also one of the Virginia Dabney's, a relative. I suppose there are a hundred people buried there, and I am sorry to say, the graves have been desecrated. Many of the marble slabs have been removed that marked their last resting place, and now you cannot tell the graves of any--all were formerly plainly marked so one could find them in after years. They must be ghouls indeed who could thus invade the city of the dead." (p.24, THE OLD PLANTATIONS and THEIR OWNERS of BRAZORIA COUNTY TEXAS, Revised Edition, 1930, by Abner Jackson STROBEL. Abner's grandmother was the sister of William and John WHARTON)

LOOKING SOUTH WEST

LOOKING NORTH - photo taken approximately 100 ft north of the WHARTON LAWN CRYPT GARDEN