DUANE
Duane's take
The marker out here in Shelby County tells it like this, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now, every town's got a beginning, and Joaquin's goes back to a man named Benjamin Franklin Morris. In the 1880s, Morris provided land for a railroad right-of-way and a hundred-acre township site for the town of Joaquin.
Then in 1890, he donated one acre at this very site to establish Joaquin Missionary Baptist Church. A man who gave land like it was something he had plenty of — and apparently, he did. But here's where the story gets quieter, and sadder.
On October 24, 1894, a young woman named Allie M. Whiddon died at age eighteen. Her sister — Viola, who folks called Ola, Viola Whiddon Rushing — she donated land adjoining that church in memory of her young sister.
That land became Joaquin Cemetery. A grief made permanent. A sister remembered in the oldest way a place knows how.
The early burials came quickly, the way they do in a young town still findin' its footing. James W. Taylor in 1897.
Wesley A. Smith in 1897. Then 1898 brought Ima Sojourner, William Taylor, and — and this one carries some weight — Joaquin Morris, B.
F. Morris's own grandson, and the very person the town is named for. Gone in 1898.
And then Bertie Truitt and Almer Wood in 1899. Young town. Young graves.
B. F. Morris himself, born in 1827, died in 1900.
His wife Jane, born in 1829, had preceded him in death, passing in 1883. For a long time, the two of them rested over at Morris Cemetery on Graveyard Hill. But in 1994, because of lack of perpetual care and difficulty of access, their graves were moved here — back to the ground he had given, back among the town he had helped shape.
A survey of the cemetery recorded more than eight hundred graves and identified twelve Civil War veterans. Jessie Avery Ferguson, born in 1859 and died in 1943, is buried here — the first mayor of Joaquin, and one of the first schoolteachers. And then there are two graves that carry a particular weight of history: two victims of the New London School Explosion of 1937 rest in this ground.
That's a story Texas still carries close. Among the other notable graves: Dr. William Allen Ramsey, born 1880, died 1962.
Dr. Edgar Rushing, born 1877, died 1943. Pharmacist Edward Lewis Ramsey, born 1875, died 1947.
Postmasters. Business leaders. Civic leaders.
Early settlers. And — this detail stops you when you see it — gravestones of community members who were citizens of the Republic of Texas. That's how far back this ground reaches.
The land was formally deeded in 1954 by Viola Rushing's son, Dr. E. O.
Rushing, to the church — closing a circle that Viola had opened with her grief sixty years before. A Cemetery Association formed in the 1960s and still holds an annual homecoming on the second Sunday in June, every year. You'll notice things when you walk this ground.
Graves facing east. Family plots set apart. A large concrete crypt.
Stately marble Woodmen of the World markers standing like sentinels. The whole place carries the shape of a community that took its dead seriously and kept coming back. Joaquin Cemetery continues to serve the burial needs of the community — which is just the official way of sayin' this story isn't finished yet.
What the marker says
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MORRIS PROVIDED LAND FOR RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY AND A 100-ACRE TOWNSHIP SITE FOR JOAQUIN IN THE 1880s. IN 1890, MORRIS DONATED ONE ACRE AT THIS SITE TO ESTABLISH JOAQUIN MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH. ON OCTOBER 24, 1894, WHEN ALLIE M. WHIDDON DIED AT AGE EIGHTEEN, VIOLA “OLA” WHIDDON RUSHING DONATED LAND ADJOINING THE CHURCH IN MEMORY OF HER YOUNG SISTER TO ESTABLISH JOAQUIN CEMETERY. ADDITIONAL EARLY BURIALS INCLUDE B. F. MORRIS’ GRANDSON AND TOWN NAMESAKE, JOAQUIN MORRIS (1898), JAMES W. TAYLOR (1897), WESLEY A. SMITH (1897), IMA SOJOURNER (1898), WILLIAM TAYLOR (1898), BERTIE TRUITT (1899), AND ALMER WOOD (1899). A SURVEY RECORDED MORE THAN 800 GRAVES AND IDENTIFIED TWELVE CIVIL WAR VETERANS. JESSIE AVERY FERGUSON (1859-1943), FIRST MAYOR OF JOAQUIN AND ONE OF THE FIRST SCHOOLTEACHERS, IS BURIED HERE, AS ARE TWO VICTIMS OF THE NEW LONDON SCHOOL EXPLOSION (1937). OTHER NOTABLE GRAVES INCLUDE PHYSICIANS DR. WILLIAM ALLEN RAMSEY (1880-1962) AND DR. EDGAR RUSHING (1877-1943) AND PHARMACIST EDWARD LEWIS RAMSEY (1875-1947). MANY EARLY SETTLERS, POSTMASTERS, BUSINESS AND CIVIC LEADERS ARE BURIED HERE. THE LAND WAS FORMALLY DEEDED IN 1954 BY VIOLA RUSHING’S SON, DR. E. O. RUSHING, TO THE CHURCH. A CEMETERY ASSOCIATION FORMED IN THE 1960s, AND CONTINUES TO HOLD AN ANNUAL HOMECOMING ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN JUNE. THE GRAVES OF B. F. MORRIS (1827-1900) AND HIS WIFE, JANE (1829-1883), WERE MOVED HERE FROM MORRIS CEMETERY ON GRAVEYARD HILL IN 1994 BECAUSE OF LACK OF PERPETUAL CARE AND DIFFICULTY OF ACCESS. PROMINENT FEATURES OF THE CEMETERY INCLUDE EAST-FACING GRAVES, FAMILY PLOTS, A LARGE CONCRETE CRYPT, STATELY MARBLE WOODMEN OF THE WORLD MARKERS, AND GRAVESTONES OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO WERE CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS. THIS HISTORIC SITE CONTINUES TO SERVE THE BURIAL NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.