Weeks Quarters
Sabine County, TX
Status: Located
Year Established: 1870
Council of Governments: DETCOG
Public History: There are no current descriptions related to Weeks Quarters in the public record. If you are aware of any sources that we may have missed please share them with us.
Community History: Gasby New Zion Cemetery was established after Emancipation by prominent Black leader and landowner William Gasby. County Line Baptist Church was located in Weeks Quarters before moving approximately 2 miles north – the founding pastor of County Line Baptist Church is buried in Gasby Cemetery. Members of the County Line congregation continued to be buried here as well as the County Line Baptist Church Cemetery. Documentation conclusively identifying this location as Weeks Quarters is needed. The two cemeteries and nearby County Line and New Zion churches are anchors for the Geneva community (see “Geneva, Don’t Leave Her: Our Family Magazine”, 2016)
The THC Historical Marker “William Gasby Cemetery” states: “Originally part of a Spanish land grant issued in 1794 to Ignacio Pirfirmo, the surrounding land was acquired in 1870 by former slave William Gasby. This cemetery was established when Gasby donated four acres of the land for a burial ground to be used by the neighboring black community. While the earliest marked grave, that of Mouzeria Thompkins, dates from 1889, there are many sites marked only with rocks, indicating the cemetery probably was in use prior to that time. William Gasby was a prominent leader in the black community and in the development of the nearby town of Geneva. He owned and operated a blacksmith shop and cotton gin on his property. Upon the death of his first wife, Mary, Gasby married Bettie Elizabeth Clay. All three are buried in this cemetery, as are many of their descendants. Another prominent black leader buried here is Alfred Canton, a minister who helped organize the County Line Missionary Baptist Church in 1868. Also known as the New Zion Cemetery for its association with New Zion Methodist Church, this graveyard is an important part of Sabine County history.”
The THC Historical Marker for “County Line Baptist Church and Cemetery” states: “This congregation began soon after the end of the Civil War in the Freedmen’s community known as Weeks Quarters (about 2 mi. S). Early prayer meetings and worship services were conducted in homes. Led by the Rev. M. McBerry, the congregation built its first sanctuary in 1868. Worshipers came from a large surrounding area to attend services in the small frame building, which also served as a community schoolhouse. The church’s name originated from its location near the Sabine-San Augustine County line. In 1885 the members voted to relocate the church to the nearby Hankla community, next to the County Line Cemetery (about 2/10 mi. N). The oldest documented grave in the cemetery dates to 1902, although local oral tradition suggests burials occurred much earlier. Many early graves are unmarked. In 1944 the congregation voted to move once again to this location. Since that time additional facilities have been built to serve the growing congregation. County Line Baptist Church continues to serve members from a large area in both San Augustine and Sabine counties (1990).”
Cemetery: Gasby New Zion Cemetery
Church: County Line Baptist Church