Elder William Brittain and Rosanna Wright Brittain
North Carolina native William Brittain (1774-1850) became a preacher in his home state at the age of 25. In 1802 he married Rosanna (Wright) (1784-1856), the daughter of revolutionary war veteran John Wright, III. Inspired by missionary possibilities in the frontier regions to the west, William and Rosanna Brittain left North Carolina in 1824. After living in Alabama and Arkansas, they migrated to the Republic of Texas in 1837 and constructed a log cabin at this site. One room of the structure served as a classroom and church sanctuary for the pioneer settlers of the Sabine River steamboat port of Hamilton, later known as East Hamilton.
A pioneer leader of the Baptist faith in East Texas, Elder Brittain was instrumental in the formation of several Shelby County congregations, including the Hamilton church in 1846. Originally aligned with the predestinarian movement of Daniel Parker, he later joined missionary Baptists of the Sabine Association and served as moderator of the organization in 1847.
East Hamilton declined with the end of steamboat traffic. All that remains is this cemetery, the site of the Brittains' early home and chapel.