William Furneaux, a native of England, came to Texas in 1857 and married Fanny Jackson, whose family had come to Texas in 1848 as part of the Peters Colony. The cemetery was established in 1884 when Furneaux died and was buried on a section of his farm that he had indicated should become a public graveyard. Seven-year-old Peter Husky died soon afterward and was buried near Furneaux. Although three graves bear earlier dates, they were moved there from other cemeteries. After the cemetery was established, Peter Husky's father, William, donated part of his land for use as a church site, and a public meeting was held to discuss laying out plots and building a sanctuary. A cemetery association was chartered in 1888, and the graveyard officially became known as Furneaux Cemetery. The charter directors were Joseph Morgan, W. R. Dudley, John Jackson, V. S. Dudley, and J. H. Furneaux. Originally surrounded by extensive farmland, the church and cemetery sites became known as Cemetery Hill. When a 1924 tornado destroyed the frame church building, the cemetery association acquired the land. Furneaux Cemetery is the burial place of many area pioneers and their descendants.