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HUSON CEMETERY - FARMERSVILLE

  CR814          33.1731N          96.532W

 This cemetery is divided into 3 distinct parts by chain-link fences. The northernmost part is about 1 acre with 30+ marked graves. It is neglected. The grass is high and the stones could be repaired. This is a colored section. It is said to be full.

The middle part, what is called South Huston in COLLIN COUNTY CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS I, is about 2 ½ acres. There are 100+ graves. The grounds are well maintained and the stones have been repaired. This section has a historical marker. This is a white section. The older stones in this section were obviously made in the rock quarry that was nearby.

The southernmost part is about 2 acres. The grass is cut. There are about 12 graves in the northwest corner. The graves are fairly recent, 1986. The graves look neglected and sunken. There is evidence of cows using this section. This is also a colored section and is still in use.

The northern section can be reached through the middle section or by a road along the outside of the fence. The road was not in very good condition. There is a gate about half way along the fence between the northern and middle sections. The southern section is completely separate from the other two. It is off to the side. There is a pavilion outside the fences. These cemeteries do not have a deed and do not have a cemetery association. Someone has been hired to keep the grass cut. The cemeteries are active.

Someone said that the area was known as Housten and the family in the area was known as Huson. The historical marker calls this the Huson Cemetery and says that the cemetery was given to the community as a public cemetery by Tennessee Huson sometime after 1875. There are supposed to be numerous unmarked graves.
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, Joy Gough

HISTORY OF HUSON CEMETERY
Collin County, Texas
Huson Cemetery is located in Collin County, Texas two and one-half miles west of Farmersville on FM 814, Many of the early settlers of the Farmersville area are buried at this cemetery which is made up of two parts, a section for white persons and a section where black persons were buried including several persons born into slavery. It is where the majority of black persons who lived in the Farmersville area were buried.
Allen Daniel was the first person to be buried on the land that would become Huson Cemetery. He had bought 480 acres of land from Coleman Watson of Fannin County on May 1, 1851 and only lived a little more than nine months after buying the land. He died in 1852. No deed for the cemetery was ever located even though an extensive search was made. The deed for the 480 acres Allen Daniel bought from Coleman Watson is misfiled under the name of Allen Donald instead of Daniel, Tennessee Daniel Huson later bought the 480 acres from her mother Elizabeth who at the time was living with her. Over the years the cemetery became known as the Huson Cemetery. It is not unusual for old cemeteries such as this one not to have a deed because they are designated for cemetery use and are not owned by anyone.
Allen Daniel came to Texas from Tennessee first settling in Lamar County. He and his family came to this community in 1850, In The Farmersville Citizen, Volume V Number 24, and dated April 6, 1916, it is stated that “He died in 1852 and was the first person buried at the Huson Cemetery, which is on his land. Quite a tree is growing over his grave. One of his old slaves, Ben Daniel, is still with us and remembers much of the history of the early days and is highly respected." Other proof that Allen Daniel was the first person to be buried here is the fact that Jimmie Morrow, a lifelong resident of the Farmersville area, remembers his older relatives telling the story of his family's arrival in this area and seeing the grave of Allen Daniel in its present location when they arrived in 1857. Jimmy Morrow also remembers the large tree that once grew over the grave.
Allen Daniel was married to Elizabeth and they were the parents of eight children, Nancy, who married Sam Hamilton, Mary E., who married Martin Harvick, Josephine, who married E.D. McWilliams, J. Wilson, who married Miram, Harriet Caroline, who married John Hendrex, Martha, who married James Oliver, Gillia, who married C.C. Frost, and Tennessee P. who married D.E. Huson, for whom the cemetery is named. After the death of Allen Daniel, Elizabeth married Captain John Yeary who with his family had been part of the group of families who came to Texas together. Captain Yeary was killed in an incident at his Sugar Hill store on December 24, 1854. Two members of the Glass family were also killed at this time.
John Hendrex, who married Allen Daniels daughter Harriet Caroline, was born in Henderson County, West Virginia. He arrived in the Farmersville area in the fall of 1850. He had married Harriet Caroline Daniel on December 17, 1845. He was a member of the Masons and served as pastor of the Little Flock Primitive Baptist Church and is also one of the persons given credit for naming Farmersville.
Another early family in the Farmersville area was the Chapman family. William Pinckney Chapman (1-20-1815 - 9-16-1877) came to Texas in 1846 and settled west of Farmersville. He was elected County Commissioner on August 6, 1860 and again in 1862, He was also a member of the Masonic Lodge and served as a Justice of the Peace. He is another of the persons given credit for naming Farmersville. William P. Chapman and his wife Catherine "Katie" Wingo were charter members of the First Baptist Church of Farmersville. Both he and his wife are buried in this cemetery. Many other members of this family are also burled here including one of William P. and Katie Chapman's sons, William D. Chapman. He and his father were part of a company formed in March of 1864 to protect the citizens east of Sister Grove Creek. William D. Chapman was one of the first pastors of the First Baptist Church serving from 1869 to 1875. At that time the church only had 41 members. D.D. Graham who married Mary Jane Chapman is buried here along with two of his three wives, all of whom were named Mary Jane. He was sworn in as Justice of the Peace in 1860 with William P. Chapman and Walter Yeary as sureties. He was also sworn in as a Justice of the Peace in the Confederate Government. Two of William D. Chapman’s children are also buried here, William H. Chapman, a postmaster of the Farmersville Post Office who committed suicide on March 6, 1898 and Sylvanis Almarine Chapman, one of the original board of directors of the Looney-Dowlin Academy which was started as a private school but was taken over in 1892 by the Farmersville Public School System.
Another early family in this area with family members buried here is the Gotcher family. William Gotcher (? - June 12, 1883) donated the land for the public square in Farmersville on March 4, 1859 and also " offered a lot to anyone who would build a house on it about 1854-55". He and his wife Mary are buried here.
The Wilcoxson family arrived in this area in 1857. They were descendants of John Wilcoxson (ca. 1720 - ca. 1788) who served in the Revolutionary War and Sarah Boone Wilcoxson, a sister of Daniel Boone. Their grandson, David Wilcoxson (March 9, 1796 - February 4, 1883) and his wife Sabrina " Sabra ' Cutbirth Wilcoxson and several of their children are buried here. David and Sabra were first cousins once removed. She was the daughter of Daniel Boone Cutbirth and Elizabeth Coleman and was the granddaughter of Benjamin Cutbirth, one of Daniel Boone4s " Long Hunters.” Another great-nephew of Daniel Boone buried here is Samuel Wilcoxson (11-20-1780 - 4-8-1859) also a grandson of John Wilcoxson.
Joseph Redwine (11-17-1835-1-17-1880) came to Texas in 1859. He married Sarah Francis Wilcoxson, the granddaughter of David and Sabra Cutbirth Wilcoxson. Joseph Redwine was a school teacher and was a first lieutenant of Captain John K. Bumpass's Company in the Confederate Army. Joseph's son Bramwell A. Redwine and his wife Laura Caroline Thompson Redwine and their son Joseph Benton are also burled here. Sarah Francis Wilcoxson Redwine Is buried by her second husband, A. B. Robertson.
Sid Nelson was born on July 11, 1861 to a slave couple on the Baird Plantation in Lafayette County, Mississippi. He came to Farmersville on September 6, 1885. Shortly after arriving here he worked as a cotton classer and sampler for the Fitzhugh, Martin and Wise Cotton Company of Paris. He later worked for the Russaw and Delbridge Construction Company of Terrell. While working for that company he aided in the construction of the first stone grammar school building in this city, which was demolished in 1912, and in the construction of the Masonic Building here in Farmersville. He also helped lay the Santa Fe tracks from Farmersville to Paris. He married Melissa 'Lissie' Reed in 1887 and they were the parents of eight children. Melissa was always known as Lissie or Aunt Liss by her friends and family. She died in 1936 and her husband in 1951. Many members of this family are buried in this cemetery.
Bob and Lela Sneed are buried here in unmarked graves. Bob was born on the William P. Bumpass farm south of Farmersville on October 16, 1861. His parents were Stan and Caroline Sneed. They were slaves owned by the Bumpass family. Both families had come from North Carolina. Caroline had been given to Maria Thomas Bumpass as a wedding gift by her parents. Stan had been found by William P. Bumpass chained in a corn crib because he had tried to run away so many times. William P. Bumpass asked him, " If I buy you and treat you right, will you not run away? ". Stan replied that he would not run away but that there was no way he would take a beating from a white man. William P. Bumpass bought Stan and later brought him to Texas. Stan and Caroline had twelve children. Bob Sneed married Lela Blevens in 1893 and they were the parents of eight children. Bob spent sixty years of his life working at various lumber yards in Farmersville.
Tamer Glass known as " Aunt Tamer " is also buried here. She was a former slave of ElIgah Glass, Tamer (11-9-1837 - 10‑15-1931) was given forty acres of land and a horse by Mr. Glass when she was freed. In the 1870 census, Samuel Glass is shown to be the head of the household in which Tamer was living and it is assumed that he was her husband. Tamer is remembered by many members of the Glass family and lived to be ninety-four years old.
Jim Bryson was the son of Richard Bryson and the personal slave of Mary Pratt Crownrich. Richard Bryson was the overseer on the plantation called Bristle Ridge which was owned by John Martin Crownrich. The plantation was east of Monroe, Louisiana on the Boueff River and on the road to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Mary Pratt Crownrich, her daughter Josephine, the personal slave and her son Jim left the plantation by carriage while John Martin Crownrich was away on a trip. Jim Bryson was born in 1869 and died in 1946. He was cared for during his lifetime by James M. Kimzey and his wife Josephine, the daughter of Mary Pratt Crownrich. They lived in Farmersville and their grandson, Clifford Carpenter, still resides here.
In recent times, Huson Cemetery has been the only cemetery in Farmersville to have a section for members of the black community. In this section there are many unmarked graves so it would not be possible to tell exactly how many persons are buried there. In the white section many of the low places have been filled in over the years covering the recessions of many graves that had no markers. Approximately 400 of the graves are marked. Many of the graves were originally marked by wooden posts and those have disappeared through the years. It would be impossible to tell the exact number of graves in this cemetery. I have included a list of the persons known to be buried here without a marker but I am sure the list is not complete since so many of the persons buried here no longer have any relatives in this area.
The original Huson Cemetery Association held its first meeting on the first Saturday in May, 1905. Area residents met at the cemetery for an annual memorial service and dinner for many years.
A copy of the original foot-noted report sent to Austin for the marker application is at the Charles Rike Library in Farmersvi1lle.
This report was prepared by Wynelle Lowrey Mitchell

HUSON CEMETERY

ALLEN DANIEL AND HIS FAMILY CAME TO TEXAS

FROM TENNESSEE IN 1847. HE AND HIS WIFE

ELIZABETH WERE THE PARENTS OF EIGHT CHILDREN.

THEY SETTLED IN THIS AREA IN 1850 AND DANIEL

PURCHASED 480 ACRES OF LAND IN MAY, 1851.

LESS THAN ONE YEAR LATER, ON FEBRUARY 25,

1852, HE DIED AND WAS BURIED ON HIS LAND.

ALLEN AND ELIZABETH DANIEL'S DAUGHTER,

TENNESSEE P. DANIEL, WAS MARRIED TO D. E.

HUSON. TENNESSEE HUSON BOUGHT THE FAMILY

LAND FROM HER MOTHER IN 1875, AND IT WAS

DURING HER OWNERSHIP THAT THE PROPERTY

SURROUNDING HER FATHER'S GRAVE WAS GIVEN TO

THE COMMUNITY AS A PUBLIC CEMETERY. IT

GRADUALLY BECAME KNOWN AS HUSON CEMETERY.

THOSE INTERRED IN THIS HISTORIC GRAVEYARD

INCLUDE MANY PIONEERS OF THE AREA, INCLUDING

THE DANIEL, HUSON, WILCOXSON AND REDWINE

FAMILIES. JOHN HENDRIX AND WILLIAM PINCKNEY

CHAPMAN, WHO ARE CREDITED WITH NAMING THE

TOWN OF FARMERSVILLE, AND WILLIAM GOTCHER,

WHO DONATED LAND FOR THE TOWN SQUARE, ARE

BURIED HERE ALONG WITH MEMBERS OF THEIR

FAMILIES. ALSO INTERRED HERE ARE MANY FORMER

SLAVES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS, INCLUDING THE

NELSON, SNEED, GLASS, AND BRYSON FAMILIES.

THE CEMETERY CONTAINS HUNDREDS OF MARKED

AND UNMARKED GRAVES.
Texas Historical marker, 1989.