Wilson
& St. Clair Cemeteries |
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Wilson Cemetery |
Wilson Cemetery is located north of Allison Community near the Denton County line. West of Decatur, from Hwy 380, turn north on CR 2513. In about 3.5 miles you come to the intersection of CR 2610 going off to the right. Go straight ahead and turn left in the first gate. This road leads to Rory Ellison’s house. The cemetery is southwest, behind the house.
The cemetery was
fenced at one time. Now only the cement curbing and buggy axel posts remain. One
stone has engraving that says, "J.W. Wilson and Family". There are
several marker rocks inside the cement curbing. West of the cement curbing are
some stones that look like they cover graves.
Thank you to Rory Ellison for showing us this cemetery, and
also to Dr. Ed & Movelda Maddox for taking us there.
J.W. Wilson was Movelda
Maddox’s great-grandfather, and she provided the information below.
# | Name | Born | Date of Death | Information Notes | Link to Headstone Picture |
1 | Wilson, James W. 'Jim' | 1832 in TN | 1877 | Farmer - Was in a Ranger unit at Wichita Falls when shot in the hip by an Indian and, as a result, died with blood poisoning. | Wilson-1.jpg |
1 | Wilson, James W. 'Jim' | Additional Picture | Wilson-1a.jpg | ||
1 | Wilson, James W. 'Jim' | Additional Picture | Wilson-1b.jpg | ||
2 | Wilson, Harriet Newel Lowe | in TN | Died in childbirth having Margaret | (No readable marker found) Was half Cherokee - Moved with husband, Jim, from Cedarville AR. | Wilson-2.jpg |
3 | Wilson, Margaret | Died as a child | (No readable marker found) Father remarried after the death of Harriet. He was unhappy with the way the new wife was treating Margaret, so he paid a family named Caddell to raise her. | Wilson-3.jpg | |
At least 2 other unknown graves | |||||
Rory Ellison 466-7221 | |||||
Information by Movelda Maddox |
St. Clair Headstone |
The St. Clair headstone is
located about 15 miles north of Decatur. Rosalie Gregg helped us find this
single headstone in March 2002.
Go north out of Decatur on Fm
Rd 730 and turn left on the old Decatur Road. Turn right on CR 2475 and stay
right on CR 2675. After you pass the Audubon Historical Marker turn right on CR
2560. Go about a quarter of a mile past a stand of tall pine trees, with a
turn-out, on the right, and you will see the headstone just inside the fence on
the right. LBJ grasslands gate #30 is less than a mile further on to the east.
You can find the headstone
from the east if you stay on Fm Rd 730, turn left on CR 2461 and then right on
CR 2560. You will pass Cottonwood Cemetery and the light green grasslands gate
#30 and see the headstone on the south side of the road.
R.R. St. Clair
Born – Dec 30, 1826
Died June - 29, 1892
"A Mason"
The settlement of Audubon was about a mile south of this headstone. The Historical Marker there reads as follows:
Site on former main street of town of
Audubon
A vanished town which was important in this area in the 19th century. It was settled by southerners and named for naturalist John J. Audubon (1785-1851).
Earliest settler, D.D. Shirey, platted town out of his farm land in 1865. He and his wife, "Aunt Polly", expanded their log house into a stagecoach inn that grew famous for a lavish table. Their excellent food was set out on a lazy susan which was the wonder of the countryside. In the late 1860’s and following decades, trail crews detoured from the cattle trail that ran to the east of here, and bought supplies in the town. Audubon had a post office from June 25, 1874, to July 20, 1904. Local social and fraternal bodies included Woodmen of the World and a Masonic Lodge active from 1879 to 1886. There were three churches, a school, a telephone office, two cotton gins, several mercantile stores, several lawyers and physicians, and two blacksmiths. The noted Dr. W.B. Palmer, had a beautiful country home, "Gynndome".
Bypassed by the Fort Worth & Denver railroad in 1883, Audubon gradually declined. Post office closed in 1904. School consolidated with Alvord in 1930.
Among outstanding native sons was the Rev. M.M. Barnett of the California Baptist Foundation. (1970)