Balis Edens Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Balis Edens Cemetery, out here in Houston County. Now, every family that put down roots in early Texas had a long road to get there. The Edens family was no different.

Balis Edens came into this world in 1805, born in South Carolina to John Edens and his wife Lavinia Langford. The family made their move to Texas in 1831, and by 1834 John Edens had received a league and labor of land in the David G. Burnet colony.

That is a substantial piece of ground, and the Edens family meant to make something of it. Now, Balis himself, he didn't come straight away. He had stayed behind in Louisiana while the rest of the family pressed on.

He finally followed them to Texas in 1838. And within a year, 1839, he had joined Captain James Cleveland's company of mounted rangers. Mounted rangers in that era were not riding around admiring the scenery, I'll tell you that much.

But the marker doesn't linger on what they faced, so we won't either. What it does tell us is that Balis Edens came back home when it was done, and he farmed, and he built and repaired cotton gins. A practical man.

A man who could fix things. In 1842, he married Elizabeth Thompson Grigsby. And then, just a year later, in 1843, she was gone.

That kind of loss doesn't need much embellishment. He then married Ruth Ann Grigsby, and life continued, as it must. When his father John Edens died in 1857, Balis inherited land on Elkhardt Creek in Houston County and moved there with his family.

New land, a fresh chapter. Then comes 1873. That year, a son, Isaac Newton Edens, was buried on that land.

And so the Balis Edens Cemetery was established, born of grief, the way so many of these quiet places were. Later that same year, Balis Edens himself died and was laid to rest in the very cemetery that had just taken his son. The burials continued in the years that followed.

Vivian Edens in 1875. Luvinia Edens Beazley in 1876. John M.

Edens in 1877. Sarah Matthews Edens in 1878. Rebecca Matthews Edens in 1882.

And finally, the last recorded burial, Ruth Ann Grigsby Edens, in 1884. The woman who had shared that Elkhardt Creek land, who had outlasted them all, was the last to be laid down among them. Today the site is maintained by members of the Edens Family Association.

That creek-side ground in Houston County still holds the whole story, from the first terrible loss in 1873 to that final farewell in 1884. Some families write their history in books. The Edens family wrote theirs in the earth.

What the marker says

Balis Edens was born in 1805 in South Carolina, the son of John Edens and his wife Lavinia Langford. The family moved to Texas in 1831, and in 1834 John Edens received a league and labor of land in the David G. Burnet colony. Balis Edens had remained in Louisiana, but followed his family to Texas in 1838. In 1839, he joined Captain James Cleveland's company of mounted rangers and later returned home where he farmed and built and repaired cotton gins. He married Elizabeth Thompson Grigsby in 1842; she died in 1843. Edens then married Ruth Ann Grigsby. When John Edens died in 1857, Balis Edens inherited land on Elkhardt Creek in Houston County and moved there with his family. The Balis Edens Cemetery was established on the land with the burial of Balis and Ruth Ann Edens' son, Isaac Newton Edens, in 1873. Later that year Balis Edens died and was buried in the cemetery. Also interred there are Vivian Edens, 1875; Luvinia Edens Beazley, 1876; John M. Edens, 1877; Sarah Matthews Edens, 1878; Rebecca Matthews Edens, 1882. The last recorded burial was that of Ruth Ann Grigsby Edens in 1884. The site is maintained by members of the Edens Family Association. (1997)