DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just the same. Edward Kellum came into this world in Virginia, back in 1787, and he was the kind of man who kept moving until he found his place. He served as a soldier in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812 — and that same year, November of 1812, he married Karen H.
Tabor. Now that's a man who didn't waste time. From there, the Kellums drifted through Alabama, then Mississippi, chasing something — land, maybe, or just the right patch of ground — before they finally settled in McLennan County, Texas, in 1854.
Ten children in tow. Ten. They bought land along the Brazos River and built themselves a farm, and somewhere in those years before 1863, they set aside a piece of that ground for something quieter than farming.
A family graveyard. You always hope you won't need it soon. Edward Kellum died on February 23, 1863, at the age of seventy-five, and he became the first one laid to rest there.
Six years later, in 1869, Karen was buried right beside him. Their son William Riley Kellum — born 1817, died 1890 — followed in time. So did Thomas Smith Kellum, born 1823, gone by 1873.
Of the twenty-five known burials, fourteen are marked with sandstone — worn down now, illegible, the names swallowed by time. All twenty-five are believed to be Kellum family members. The last to be buried there was Mary Elizabeth Jurney Kellum, widow of William R.
Kellum, who died in 1895. She left something behind worth noting: her will provided for the maintenance of that cemetery. She made sure the ground would be kept.
The plot started as a one-acre rural site, open farmland stretching out around it. Then Waco grew. And grew.
Until the city surrounded that little graveyard entirely, and what was once a country burial ground now holds just half an acre inside a spreading city. The Kellums found their place along the Brazos. Waco just decided to come find them.
What the marker says
A native of Virginia, Edward Kellum (1787-1863) was a soldier in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812. He married Karen H. Tabor in November 1812, and they moved to Alabama and Mississippi before eventually settling in McLennan County, Texas, in 1854. The parents of ten children,the Kellums bought land along the Brazos River and established a farm. This location was chosen as the site of a family graveyard sometime before 1863. When Edward Kellum died on February 23, 1863, he became the first family member interred here. Karen Kellum was buried next to her husband in 1869. Other family members buried here include Edward and Karen's sons, William Riley Kellum (1817-1890) and Thomas Smith Kellum (1823-1873). Of the twenty-five know burials, fourteen are marked with illegible sandstone markers. All twenty-five graves are believed to be those of Kellum family members. The last person buried here was Mary Elizabeth Jurney Kellum, widow of William R. Kellum. Following her death in 1895, her will provided for the maintenance of the cemetery. Originally encompassing a one-acre rural site, the graveyard has been surrounded by the growing city of Waco and now contains one-half acre of land.