Savannah Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place. Now, some cemeteries just happen. They start quiet, stay quiet, and nobody much remembers how they got their start.

Savannah Cemetery is not that kind of place. This one has a story, and it begins with a woman named Sofia Smith Whatley. Sofia was born in South Carolina, made her way to Alabama, and then, in 1875, her husband Martin died.

What does a widow do in 1875 with sons scattered across the South? She moves. She packed up and headed to Marion County, Texas, with her son Miles Jefferson at her side, coming to join another son, James Darling Whatley, and his family who were already out here putting down roots.

And later, a third son, Francis Marion, bought land in Marion County as well. Sofia came looking for family, and family is exactly what she found. The burial ground started on James Whatley's land.

James, it's worth noting, also deeded property to the county for a public school. A man thinking about the living and the dead both, which is more than most people manage. The oldest marked grave belongs to a Poe family infant who died in 1884.

A child, unnamed on the marker, but not forgotten. Marked. Remembered.

That matters. For many years folks called this place the Whatley Cemetery, which makes all the sense in the world given everything I just told you. But over time, the name changed.

It took on the name Savannah, after the second wife of Miles Whatley. And the name stuck so well that an area church bears her name too. Savannah, whoever she was, left a quiet kind of mark on this corner of Marion County.

Over the years, the burial ground grew beyond the family and became a community cemetery. Veterans buried here served in conflicts dating all the way back to the Civil War. An association now oversees cemetery operations.

And through all of it, Whatley family members have stayed active in maintaining the site. They call it a link to their heritage and to local history. That's not just a polite thing to say.

A woman left South Carolina, lost her husband, followed her sons to Texas, and the ground where her family came to rest is still tended, still named, still remembered. That's a link, all right. That's a chain that hasn't broken yet.

What the marker says

This site began as the family burial ground for Sofia Smith Whatley and her descendants. A South Carolina native, Whatley moved from Alabama with her son, Miles Jefferson, shortly after her husband, Martin, died in 1875. She came to this area to join another son, James Darling, and his family. A third son, Francis Marion, later bought land in Marion County as well. The burial ground began on the land of James Whatley, who also deeded property to the county for a public school. The oldest marked grave is that of a Poe family infant who died in 1884. For many years, the burial ground was known as the Whatley Cemetery, although over time it took on the name Savannah, after the second wife of Miles Whatley. An area church also bears her name. Over the years, the burial ground became a community cemetery, although Whatley family members remain active in maintaining the site, which is a link to their heritage and to local history. Among the area residents buried here are veterans of military conflicts dating to the Civil War. An association oversees cemetery operations. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005