Park Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Park Cemetery in Madison County. Now settle in, because this one starts the way a lot of good Texas stories do, with family, land, and somebody who had to do the burying. It was 1852 when John and Elizabeth Kellett Park laid Elizabeth's brother, Thomas Jefferson Kellett, to rest on their own land, right here at this site.

Thomas had come a long way to find his final resting place in Madison County. He was born in South Carolina, and he had served in the army of the Republic of Texas, so the ground he was given had been well earned. Three years later, in 1855, John's brother Andrew, also a native of South Carolina, was buried on that same family land.

Two brothers from the same state, resting on the same piece of Texas earth. Then in 1860, John Park himself died, and Elizabeth, who had already seen to the burial of her own brother and her husband's brother, now buried the man she had shared that land with, laying him down near those brothers. Elizabeth Park did a lot of the heavy lifting in this story, and she wasn't finished yet.

She eventually deeded two hundred and seven acres, burial ground included, to a man named Saxton Tarpley. And Tarpley, for his part, took three of those acres and in 1870 deeded them to his son, the Reverend B. Tarpley, and four other trustees, for a community cemetery and school.

One piece of land, carrying two purposes at once. That is a very Texas arrangement. The Park Cemetery Association was formed in 1920, giving the place the kind of organized stewardship it had earned by then.

And today, more than six hundred graves rest here, among them veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. What started as one family burying their own became something the whole community could claim. Elizabeth Park buried her brothers and her husband, and somewhere in that act of grief and care, she planted the seed of a place that would hold more than six hundred souls.

What the marker says

John and Elizabeth Kellett Park buried her brother, Thomas Jefferson Kellett, on their land at this site in 1852. Thomas Kellett was born in South Carolina and served in the army of the Republic of Texas. John Park's brother Andrew, also a native of South Carolina, was buried on the family land in 1855. When John Park died in 1860, Elizabeth buried him near their brothers. She later deeded 207 acres including the burial ground to Saxton Tarpley. Tarpley deeded three acres to his son, the Rev. B. Tarpley, and four other trustees for a community cemetery and school in 1870. The Park Cemetery Association was formed in 1920. Included among the more than 600 graves here are those of veterans of the Civil War, World War I and World War II. (2000)