Taylor Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Ward Taylor, Senior, was born in 1791, and his wife Nancy, born in 1796, came to Texas all the way from Alabama in 1845. They weren't traveling alone, either.

Taylor and Mathews relatives, children, the whole extended family, they followed along to Marion County that same year and in the years that came after, building homes, putting down roots, helping settle the land. That's the kind of arrival that leaves a mark on a place. And sure enough, they left one.

A permanent one. In May of 1860, a four-month-old baby named Emmett, son of E. W. and S.

E. Taylor, was buried on this very site. The land at that time belonged to Marion De Kalb Taylor, known by his initials as M.D.K.

Taylor. Little Emmett's grave is the earliest marked burial in the cemetery. The earliest marked one, mind you.

Family history tells us the graveyard was already in use before the Civil War, so there may be stories in this ground that go back even further than the records can reach. And then there's this, told as legend: the family buried several slaves outside the original fence, to the north of the main cemetery. That's a quiet, heavy detail, and it deserves to sit there a moment without rushing past it.

In 1868, M.D.K. Taylor deeded that land to his father, Ward Taylor, Senior, and the family cemetery was specifically mentioned in that deed. Ward died in 1871, and Nancy, his wife, inherited the property.

She honored Ward's instructions and left it to their son J.M. Taylor. J.M. willed it to his wife, Amanda Maleson Craven Taylor.

Nancy herself passed in 1879. The land kept changing hands within the family, but it never stopped being what it always was, a place where the Taylor family laid their people to rest. By 1961, a cemetery association had formed to care for the graveyard.

They did careful work. They identified sixteen of those believed to have been buried in thirty-two unmarked graves. Thirty-two unnamed resting places, and they managed to put names to sixteen of them.

By 1998, there were thirty-two marked burials in Taylor Cemetery. And the graveyard, all these generations on, still serves Taylor descendants and anyone else who wishes to be buried here. Some places, once they take root, just keep on growin'.

What the marker says

Ward Taylor, Sr. (1791-1871), and Nancy (Mathews) Taylor (1796-1879) came to Texas from Alabama in 1845. Several Taylor and Mathews relatives and children joined them in Marion County in that year and the years following, building homes and helping to settle the area. In May 1860, four-month-old Emmett, son of E. W. and S. E Taylor, was buried on this site on land belonging to Marion De Kalb (M.D.K.) Taylor. Emmett's grave remains the earliest marked burial in the cemetery, though family history indicates that the graveyard was in use before the Civil War. According to legend, the family buried several slaves outside the original fence to the north of the main cemetery. When M.D.K. deeded the land to his father, Ward Taylor, Sr., in 1868, the family cemetery was mentioned in the deed. Ward's wife Nancy inherited the property upon his death. She left the property, according to Ward's instructions, to their son J.M. Taylor, who willed it to his wife Amanda Maleson (Craven) Taylor. In 1961, a cemetery association was formed to care for the graveyard. Association members identified sixteen of those who are believed to have been buried in 32 unmarked graves. In 1998, there were 32 marked burials in Taylor Cemetery. The graveyard continues to serve Taylor descendants and all others who wish to be buried here. (1998)