Garland Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Garland Cemetery in Red River County. Now settle in, because this one starts long before anyone thought to put a name on the gate. Joseph and Martha Starks Wagley made their way to Red River County from Louisiana back in 1833, and they put down roots in the area south of what we now call Annona.

By the time Martha passed in 1857, she and Joseph had raised eight children together. Joseph didn't stay a widower long. He later married a widow named Nancy Ann Coffee, and the two of them added another two children to the Wagley count.

That's ten children, and a piece of land in East Texas, and a life built from the ground up in a county that was still finding its own shape. Then the Civil War came along and took something it couldn't give back. Joseph served in the Confederate Army, and his son Starks, named right there in the family line, died in the conflict.

Some prices you can't argue with. When the war was done, Joseph Wagley made a decision. In 1866, he sold 2,300 acres, including the very ground where his family had been buried, to John C. and J.D.

Garland. Then he packed up and moved to Callahan County, leaving behind the land, the graves, and the name that would come to mark them. Several Wagley family members are known to be buried in that cemetery, though only two of the graves carry any marker at all.

The earliest death date recorded on a tombstone belongs to Ella McCallum, and it reads 1874. Over the years, the cemetery came to be known by the Garland name, the way places often take the name of whoever holds the deed. Then in 1914, family members deeded five acres to the Methodist church for continued use as a graveyard, and that connection held.

Today, Annona Methodist Church and members of the community maintain the site. They keep the grass cut and the memory alive for a stretch of land that has outlasted the family who first broke it, the war that divided them, and the sale that sent them west. The Wagley name may not be on the gate, but it is most certainly in the ground.

What the marker says

Joseph and Martha Starks Wagley came to Red River County from Louisiana in 1833, settling in this area south of present-day Annona. The couple had eight children by the time of Martha's death in 1857, and Joseph later married widow Nancy Ann Coffee, with whom he had an additional two children. He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and his son Starks died in the conflict. In 1866, Joseph Wagley sold 2,300 acres of land, including this family burial ground, to John C. and J.D. Garland, and moved to Callahan County. Several Wagley family members are known to be buried here, although only two of the graves are marked. The earliest death date on a tombstone, that of Ella McCallum, is 1874. The cemetery became known by the Garland name over the years, and family members deeded five acres to the Methodist church in 1914 for continued use as a graveyard. Today, Annona Methodist Church and members of the community maintain the historic site, which serves as a tie to generations of area settlers. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005