Ben Ficklin Cemetery, Tom Green County TX Cemetery ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** Ben Ficklin Cemetery San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas Just off Bryant Throughway and Loop 306 on the south side of San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas. Submitted by: Hyatt E. Cayton 707 N. Highland St Seminole, OK 74868 (hyatte@brightok.net) Currently Identifiable Grave Markers in Ben Ficklin Cemetery September 24, 1998 A. F. H. Smith, Harold Glenn, November 18, 1964, December 8, 1996 McDonald, Charles R., Oct 10, 1898, June 3, 1976 , Pearl, Nov. 21, 1902, Oct. 11, 1993 J. W. Short, Born Feb. 2, 1812, Died Feb 8, 1890 Hattie Short, Born Feb. 2, 1826, Died Nov. 30, 1908 W. B. Short, Born Oct.21, 1867, Died Mar.29, 1890 Jda Short, Beloved Wife of Geo. Short, Born Dec. 3, 1873, Died Apr. 4, 1893 A. Vancourt, Born in Miffin Co. Pa., Feb. 27, 1812, Died Feb. 19, 1881. Not Lost But Gone Before. E. A. T. F. C. T. J. B. T. James Blakely Taylor, Born July 31, 1824, Died Aug. 24, 1882. Psalms 111.15. Francis Cobbett Taylor, Born Nov. 24, 1822, Died June 4, 1879. Job XXIX, 11-12. Esther Ann Taylor, Born Feb. 28, 1822, Died May 15, 1879. Because I live ye shall live also. Zemula W. Spears, Born May 27, 1838, Died April 19, 1877. Lord thy will be done not mine but thine O Lord. Mary Jane Metcalfe, Born April 27, 1826, Died Aug 24, 1882. I Cor XV, 57. Zemula L. Metcalfe, Born July 15, 1866, Died Aug 24 1882. Mathew V, 8. (There are five unmarked graves next to hers that appear to be the graves of children.) Tom L. Watson, Texas, Pvt. ICL.360 INF. 90 Div. April 26, 1889, January 9, 1944 Julia Watson, Oct 27, 1846, Jan 7, 1936. Robert Massie Co. ----------Watson, Borned Jan 22 1908, Died Mar 31, 19---- Moses H. Taylor, Born Dec 14 1870, Died Jan 31 1903 W. M. Watson, July 26, 1844, Feb. 24, 1916. Gone But Not Forgotten. (Buddy) Luther Alvin Watson, 1913-1938. Tho Lost To Sight To Memory Dear. L. T. L. Silas J. Born Jan 10, 1904 Son Of W. Lawler Died Apr 10, 1904. Our Baby Has Gone To Rest. Porfirio DeHoyos, Marso. 6. DE. 1921, Fayesio De 26 Anos DE. EDA Alam ------, De El Nino Plutarco Rocha Jue Fahesio. El 20 DE 1894 (Lamb Inset) Infant Dau of D. & M. Goss, Died July 10, 1907 Aged 4 Months Thomas Leon Watson, Born Oct 18, 1942, Died Oct 29, 1942 Mattie Wife Of Dave Goss Born June 17, 1875, Died June 27 1908. L. A. (Lee) Stewart, Sept. 23, 1877, Feb. 19, 1943 Father John W. Lawler, 1867-1937 Raymond Aniel Stewart, 3.3.(?)/(?).(?)42 Lee Stewart John Watson There are 101 identifiable graves besides those listed above which are unmarked. INDEX OF GRAVES DeHoyos, Porfirio Goss, D. & M., Infant Daughter of Goss, Mattie, wife of Dave Lawler, John W. Lawler, Silas J. McDonald, Charles R. Metcalf, Mary Jane Metcalf, Zemula L. Short, J. W. Short, Hattie Short, W. B. Short, Jda Smith, Harold Glenn Spears, Zemula W. Stewart, L. A. (Lee) Stewart, Raymond Aniel Stewart, Lee Taylor, James Blakely Taylor, Francis Cobbett Taylor, Esther Ann Taylor, Moses H. Vancourt, A. Watson, Tom L. Watson, Julia Watson, .... Watson, W. M. Watson, Luther Alvin Watson, Thomas Leon Watson, John Ben Ficklin Cemetery (Also known as Metcalfe-Spence Cemetery) Replaced older burial plot at nearby settlement of Ben Ficklin, after flood of August 24, 1882. Washed away the town and inundated the cemetery exposing many graves. Charles B. Metcalfe, Nephew of Col. Francis C. Taylor, founder of Ben Ficklin selected this site on higher ground to reintern remains of relatives including Col. Taylor, and bury his mother, sister, and another uncle, victims of the flood. Final resting place of many Tom Green County pioneers Cemetery and village were named for owner of San Antonio-El Paso Mail Line, Ben Ficklin. TOM GREEN COUNTY A part of the Miller and Fisher Grant in 1842 - created a county March 13, 1874 - organized January 5, 1875. Named in honor of General Thomas Green, 1814-1864 a veteran of San Jacinto, member of the Somervell Expedition, a confederate officer. First mail route to the Pacific converged here in 1858. County Seat, Ben Ficklin 1875, San Angelo since 1882. (Texas State Historical Marker located in front of the Ben Ficklin Cemetery) Major Ben Ficklin (1827-1871) Called mystery man of the Confederacy. Educated at Virginia Military Institute. At age 18 served as a corporal in Mexican War. In 1850's worked with stagecoach and mail lines from Missouri to San Francisco. Helped to start the pony express line in 1860. Promoted idea of the railroad that later was the Union Pacific - the first to span the US. Was a soldier and state quartermaster in Virginia at start of Civil War. Appointed confederate purchasing agent, his swagger and success in Europe excited Federal envy. Personally ran blockade and passed through New York and Washington on secret missions. In 1867 was awarded U. S. Contract for weekly mail run from Ft Smith, Arkansas, to San Antonio, and El Paso, Texas. Had his Headquarters three miles below Fort Concho, owned 640 acres of land here. Build corrals, blacksmith shops, storage rooms, adobe house, kitchen and commissary. On a visit to Washington, D. C., died of swallowing a fish bone. Was buried in Charlottsville, VA. Associates carried on the mail stage runs. Later named town near Fort Concho for the Late Major. "Benficklin" was first county seat of Tom Green County and served until it was destroyed by flood in 1882. (Texas State Historical Marker located just above where the town of Ben Ficklin was located.) THE BEN FICKLIN CEMETERY (Contributed by Wyvon McCrohan and Loretta L. Cook) Just off Bryant Throughway and Loop 306 on the south side of San Angelo, virtually unnoticed by busy travelers lies the Ben Ficklin Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Tom Green County. Although a historical site marker was placed there in 1973, this historic spot, for the most part, remains unheralded, neglected, and damaged by weather and vandalism. During the time the Jaycees were restoring and cleaning up the cemetery as one of their Bicentennial projects, the late Mrs. Bertha (Stewart) Meeks was helping them to identify various graves. While standing by the grave of her maternal grandfather, William L. Watson (1844-1916), she could identify the graves of her grandmother, Julie Watson (1846- 1936) and her father, Lee Arlington Stewart, buried here in 1943, age 65 at the time of his death. During the search, she was able to locate the graves, marked only by a wooden marker with no visible notation, of her paternal grandfather, Samuel Kimberly Stewart, and also a grave believed to be that of Samuel's wife Molly. Easier to find are the marked graves of her uncle, Tom L. Watson (1889-1944), John W. Lawler 1867-1937), and Rufus Watson, the latter having died of meningitis. Other tragic deaths are indicated by the graves of Luther Watson killed in a 1938 car wreck on the Ben Ficklin Road. Luther was the son of Jeff Watson, who many years earlier had buried four of his children whose deaths occurred within five days, all victims of meningitis. Their small graves are visible today with stone markers standing in a row. Several other Stewart and Watson relatives are buried here, but like so many others in the cemetery, the graves cannot be identified. They include other sons of Samuel Kimberly Stewart -Arthur Stewart, Kennedy Stewart, Irrie Stewart, -- and two daughters, Charlsie Winans and Arlu Ward. The Stewart Family had buried their dead here often after being told by C. B. Metcalfe that "this is a good place to lay your kin to rest." Mr. Metcalfe was a nephew of Francis C. Taylor, who operated the mail station established by Major Ben Ficklin. After Ben Ficklin's death, Mr. Taylor named the community for his friend and associate. Mr. Taylor was buried in the cemetery in 1879. In 1882, the disastrous flood which destroyed the town of Ben Ficklin, inundated the original cemetery (believed to have been located just north or northwest of the present site), exposing many graves and ruining markers. One quote from that time recalls, "the flooding caused the dead to leave their graves and float downstream. It was C. B. Metcalfe who selected a piece of higher ground to bury his mother, Mary Jane Metcalfe; his 16-year-old sister, Zemula L. Metcalfe; and uncle, James B. Taylor, all victims of the flood, and to re-intern remains of other relatives, including Francis C. Taylor. Other family names appearing on markers include Short, Walker, Hernandez, and McDonald. Also laid to rest there were two members of the Goss family, A. F. Herring, Zemula W. Spears, Thelma R. Tollett, A. Vancourt, and Lee Stewart and his baby son, Raymond Daniel Stewart, whose marker is inset with marbles. Many of the graves were originally decorated with shells from the nearby Concho River, but most have long since disappeared. Some gravesites are visible only by an outline of rocks or a small, metal funeral-home marker. Original wooden crosses have fallen away, leaving many final resting places obscure. Some gravesites are surrounded by metal fencing and others by rock walls in various stages of deterioration. Internment was permitted in the Ben Ficklin Cemetery until the mid-1940's when access into the cemetery became a problem. The rocky hilltop, now accessible because of highway construction required by expansion and development of San Angelo, is overgrown with brush and weeds, though there is now a church, houses, and the busy highway nearby. Within the cemetery itself, a sense of loneliness prevails, spurred perhaps by the fact that this long neglected resting place of many Tom Green County pioneers and two site markers are all that remains of the once thriving community of Ben Ficklin, the first county seat of Tom Green County.