Freestone County, Texas Cemeteries Talley Family Cemetery ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Status: Inactive (since 1911) Albert Bonner showed me this cemetery. The cemetery is completely overgrown and has no surrounding fence. The markers are bad shape with many toppled or broken from falling tree branches or old dead trees. The cemetery is on the back side of a small section of trees and overgrowth. There is no sign for the cemetery. Location: Located about 2 miles N of Fairfield. Barely 100 yards west of Hwy 75. Directions: From Fairfield, go north on Hwy 75 to Stewards Mill. Go past the library and school and the new intermediate school in town. Go past Cooper Farms orchard (established in the mid to late 1960s) that still sells peaches. (James Millen Bonner lived in the area in the 1950s near Cooper Farms.) Go past 1158 and 1161. Past 2547 is a stretch of farms prior to the Corner Stone Baptist church. You have gone too far if you reach Corner Stone Baptist church. Just off I-75 on the left side is the trees where the cemetery is. In the midst of the farms is a building painted white with black spots like a cow. Just prior to this shed building there is a corpse of trees where the cemetery is. The cemetery is on the far side of the trees away from the highway. Park vehicles on the shoulder of Highway 75. Short walk to back of thicket. About 15 graves possible. Background: This is the family cemetery for Coleman Talley & Julia Ann Orand who married 22 Aug 1847 in Wilson Co., TN and lived in Cannon Co., TN before moving to Freestone County, TX. Coleman appears in the 1880 census with his wife and two laborers. The Talley cemetery was on Coleman's parcel. Isaac Whatley and Malissa Helen (Talley) Morton appear in the 1880 census and their son is buried here. Margaret Amanda Sharp was the sister of Julia Ann Orand Talley and Mr. Raleigh Orand. Margaret was a widow with three daughters that left Rutherford Co., TN to join her family in Freestone County, TX. The Talley family had a lumber mill (called C. & H. N. Talley Lumber) in the late 1880s which made posts that surrounded the county court house. Oldest Marked Grave: July 20, 1881 Meda Talley ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morton, Newton Sneed 10/30/1879-07/24/1881 s/o I.W. & M.H. Morton Sharp, Margaret A[manda Orand] 09/07/1835-05/14/1887 w/o A. Sharp [broken stone] *O* Talley, Coleman 01/11/1827-07/14/1888 [has C.T. footstone, broken top] *O* Talley, Leslie 10/26/1892-03/09/1907 *1* [s/o William & Elizabeth Talley] Talley, Julia [Ann Orand] 10/11/1828-01/16/1911 [broken top] Talley, Meda 03/16/1880-07/20/1881 *1* *3* Talley, Jeffie E. 02/??/1883-09/16/1883 d/o T.P. & L.A.; aged 8m & 16d; *2* 2 large single-piece iron ore rock graves (one near Talley graves closer to road, other rock at cedar on edge of thicket with the field). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UNMARKED GRAVES: Horton, M. D. ? - Oct 1889 *4*, *5*, *6* Martin, Johnie ?-Jul., 1888 age 3 *7*, *8* Talley, Virgil 12/24/1898-02/07/1899 age 1 mth, 14 days *9* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POSSIBLE GRAVES: Anderson, Albert ? - Jan 1891 (on T.S. Talley's place four miles north of Fairfield) Sellers, Louis ? - Feb 1891 (living on Si Talley place four miles north of Fairfield) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES: *1* = Could not find these in the heavy underbrush. *2* = Marble grave covering coffin shaped. Inscription is: "Sleep on sweet babe and take thy rest. God calls away when he thinks best." *3* = Found footstone inscribed M.T., but not the headstone. *4* = Fairfield Recorder - Oct. 25, 1889 "DIED Mr. M. D. Horton, living, a few miles north of Fairfield, died last Monday of black jaundice after a short illness. The deceased was a good, steady citizen, an industrious farmer and christian man, and his death is a loss to his community as well as to his family and friends. He was married about two years to a Mrs. Martin, near Cotton Gin, and leaves a wife and a babe a few months old. He was a brother of Mr. I. W. Horton near town. The bereaved family leaves the sympathy of many in their great loss." *5* = Fairfield Recorder - Dec. 6, 1889 "The children of M. D. Horton, deceased, by his first wife, left last Monday for their uncle's, Henry Wadley, who lives in Weatherford, Parker county, Texas." *6* = Fairfield Recorder - Dec. 20, 1889 " ALLIANCE NOTICE All members of the Farmers' Alliance, who can, are requested to meet with Smith Alliance at Ward Prairie church, Saturday before the first Sunday in January 1890, at 8 a.m. to perform the burial service of our late brother, S.S. Orand; and also of brother R.S. Cannon, at Steward's Mill, Saturday before the second Sunday at 1 p.m.; and of brother M. D. Horton at Tally's grave yard on Saturday before the third Sunday at 9 a.m." *7* = Fairfield Recorder - April 6, 1888 "The little boy who was so severely burned near Cotton Gin recently, was not named Williams, as a telegram first stated, but is named Johnie Martin, and is a son of Mrs. M. D. Horton, living a few miles north of town. The little fellow is only three years old, and last week was still in a dangerous condition. He was visiting his grandfather, and caught fire accidentally, in trying to set some grass on fire, like he saw some older boys doing. His step-father, Mr. Horton, intended to move him home this week, if could be done with safety." *8* = Fairfield Recorder - July 27, 1888 "Mr. M. D. Horton, north of a few miles, lost a little child, a year or two old, a few days ago, but we did not learn of what disease." *9* = Fairfield Recorder - Feb. 10, 1888 "The little two month old baby, of Mr. and Mrs. T. F. Talley, living a few miles north of Fairfield, died last Tuesday." "Died - Died four miles north of town on Feb. 7th, of congestion of the lungs, little Virgil, the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. T. F. Talley, aged 1 month and 14 days. Weep not young parents for your little one. He has gone to the one who gave him. You can only make preparations to meet him where there is no parting. ... A Friend" ============================================================= LEGEND FOR CEMETERY LISTINGS: *O* = Obituary listed elsewhere on this site *D* = Death Certificate listed elsewhere on this site *B* = Biography listed elsewhere on this site *P* = Photo of tombstone on this website *S* = Social Security death index listed elsewhere on this site y = year; mo or m = month; d = day(s); h/o = husband of; h1/o = first husband of; h2/o = second husband of w/o = wife of; w1/o = first wife of; w2/o = second wife of m = married to d/o = daughter of; s/o = daughter of ? = unknown birth date or death date (based on position) x2 marker = single marker for two graves, typically married couples TX = Texas; Cav = Cavalry CO = Company; Reg = Regiment; WWI = World War I; WWII = World War II; CSA = soldier in the Confederate States of America