Smith County, Texas
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Mrs. Elizabeth Baker Ashcraft 8 Nov 1783 - 9 Apr 1878 Born in N. C. - Aged 90 yrs. Footstone with MEMB Rev. J. W. Ashcraft Susan Herrin Ashcraft |
The Ashcraft/Ashcroft family is first censused in Smith County in 1860. At that time Elizabeth Baker Ashcraft is 78 years old and living with her son, John W., his wife, Susan Herrin Ashcraft, Susan's younger brother, John Herrin, and Jane Culp, who was Susan's widowed younger sister. Ten years later, Elizabeth is still living with her son and his wife. In most censuses, John W. Ashcraft is listed as a farmer, but evidently he was licensed to the ministry because there is a record of his marrying several people, including some of the Green family. John W. was one of the men who helped start Hickory Grove School. Elizabeth Baker Ashcraft was the maternal grandmother of Col. George Yarbrough, a prosperous Tyler businessman whose exploits figure in many of Smith County's early developments. |
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Thomas C. Baker Husband of Mary B. Baker Son of Richmond and Melinda Baker 31 Dec 1851 - 29 Jan 1884 Age 34 Years Footstone with TCB |
Thomas C. Baker married Mrs. Mary E. Greer November 27, 1880 in Smith County. What his family connection was to Elizabeth Baker Ashcraft, I do not know. At least part of his occupation was taking care of roads south and east of Tyler. His headstone is the tallest and most auspicious in Smith Cemetery. The footstone, which is larger than most of the headstones in the cemetery, contains his initials. |
| James F. Dark Co. D 15th TX Inf. C.S.A. No dates |
James Dark was the son of David L. and Eliza Green Dark, who are buried in Kendrick Cemetery. David L. Dark was also a veteran of the Civil War. Eliza Green Dark was the daughter of Jonathan Green’s twin brother, David Green. The Dark family name can be found censused in the same counties in Tennessee as the Green and Weaver families long before they all came to Texas. |
| Albert G. Ellison 2 Feb 1868 - 10 Oct 1888 Footstone with AGE |
Albert Green Ellison was the firstborn son of William and Joannah Green Ellison, making him a nephew to William Green who is buried nearby. Albert never married. His sister, Annie Leona Ellison Baty, was the paternal grandmother of Lee Roy Baty, who has worked with his wife, Bettye, to restore Smith Cemetery. |
| William Green 6 Feb 1815 - 12 Nov 1879 |
William Green was the oldest son of Jonathan and Anna Weaver Green. He was husband to: Candace Record, Nancy Ann Shackelford, Elizabeth Camp, and Elizabeth Stone Shackelford. He came to Texas with his parents and siblings in 1848-1849, and quickly made a name for himself in local county affairs. He served as a County Commissioner and County Treasurer during the 1850’s. His first three sons (by Candace Record) were killed fighting for the South during the Civil War. His firstborn daughter, Martha Ann Penelope Green Smith, is buried nearby, as are several of his grandchildren and other relatives. |
| John Rebel Herrin Son of J. W. and M. E. Herrin 2/16/1874 6/14/1875 |
John Rebel Herrin was the infant son of John W. and Martha E. Smith Herrin, who married April 25, 1865, in Smith County. John W. Herrin was a brother to Margaret Herrin Yarbrough, wife of Col. George Yarbrough, and a brother of Susan Herrin Ashcraft, who is also buried in Smith Cemetery. His occupation was jailer for the Precinct 4 constable in 1876. Martha E. Smith Herrin was the daughter of William J. Smith and his first wife, Nancy Long Smith. |
| Frank L. Johnson 1846-1884 Footstone with FLJ |
Frank L. Johnson was the husband of Altha Jane Smith, who was the daughter of W. J. Smith. Frank and Altha married June 20, 1875, in Smith County and had three daughters before his death. |
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Polly M. Long
12 Oct 1797 - 21 Apr 1866 - Footstone with PML Polly Moore Dickson Long is the same person as Mary M. Long, whose name is on the official survey for the land on which the cemetery is located. Mary was the daughter of James Dickson and Agnes Nancy Moore Dickson, residents of Marshall County, Tennessee. Mary married Benjamin Alexander Long on April 6, 1815. Benjamin Long fought under General Andrew Jackson in the battles of Horeshoe Bend and New Orleans. Benjamin and Mary became the parents of James Dickson Long, Richard Brown Long, Margaret Isabella Long, William Thomas Long, Sarah Adeline Dickson Long, and Nancy Jane Long. James Dickson Long married Jane Bailey Cathey in Tennessee and later moved to Texas. Richard Brown Long married Nancy Jane Marbury and remained in Tennessee until 1850, at which time they moved to Smith County Texas. Richard was elected Sheriff in 1854 and served until 1857, when he was appointed District Clerk He held this office until he resigned in 1862 to serve in Company B in Col. O. M. Roberts' regiment of Texas Infantry, CSA, until the close of the war. Margaret Long married Ephraim Minor Eakin/Aikin on December 14, 1836, in Marshall County, Tennessee. Sarah/Sallie Adeline Long married Samuel Hampson Boren in 1839. Sometime between February and October of 1837, Benjamin Long died. Shortly after her husband's death, Mary immigrated to Texas with her four younger children. About the same time, Margaret and Ephraim Eakin moved to Texas with their newborn daughter, Mary Elizabeth. All of these immigrants made their home in Nacogdoches County. Several land deals were made involving Mary Long and James D. Long of Marshall County, Tennessee, and Ephraim and Margaret Eakin of Nacogdoches County, Texas, during 1838-1839. Mary's son, Richard B. Long, acted as the attorney in those proceedings. Mary qualified for a Second Class Headright (conditional certificate #53) in June of 1838. The unconditional certificate #122 was granted three years later. Records show that there was also a James Eakin who owned 1280 acres in Nacogdoches County, and who acted as Ephraim's agent in land purchases and sales during the late 1830's and early 1840's. By 1840, another of Mary's daughters, Sarah A. Long Boren, and her husband Samuel became a resident of Nacogdoches County. Mary Long herself is recorded in the1840 Texas Tax List in Nacogdoches County. She is shown owning two slaves and a wooden clock, items on which taxes were owed at that time. On October 20, 1842, Nancy Jane Long, another of Mary's daughters, married William Josiah Smith in Nacogdoches County. This marriage produced one son and three daughters, James H., Sarah Isabella, Martha E., and Althea Jane. Land records in Nacogdoches County in 1843 indicate that Samuel Boren and his wife, Sarah Long Boren, gave Mary Long 160 acres as a gift. The 1850 Nacogdoches County census indicates that Mary was living with William and Nancy Smith and their four children. In the household is also Edward F. Baker, age 22, and Mary Eakin, age 13, who was a niece. It is my belief that Edward Baker was a relative or close family friend, perhaps related to the Bakers who are also buried at Smith Cemetery. The census shows that Mary Long owned $640 worth of real estate. The Samuel Boren family was their closest neighbors. In 1851, Mary Long gave the 160 acres back to Samuel and Sarah Boren. Sometime between 1850 and 1855, Nancy Long Smith died, and William J. remarried. His new wife was Mary Eakin, his niece by marriage who had been living with his family for several years. This marriage produced a son and a daughter, John B. Smith and Julia Minor Smith. By 1860, Mary Long and the William J. Smith family lived in Smith County south of Tyler, only in separate households. They settled on land that Mary had gotten as a land grant. Their neighbors included the families of William Green, John Payne, and John Ashcraft, David Dark, and several Shackelfords. |
| George W. Longley 13 Jun 1860 - 16 Oct 1888 Footstone with GWL Easter Longley Thurman |
Easter Wood Longley and her family also lived south of Tyler in 1860. She was married to George W. Longley, who had a carpenter shop. At that time, they had a small son, George W. Longley, Jr., who eventually married Ellen Shackelford in 1883. Another son named Johnny was born in 1863. When George, Sr. died, Easter and her two sons lived for a time with Easter's sister, Sallie Wood Rice and her husband, Hesekiah Rice. Easter later married Alphens M. Thurman. Easter and her son George Jr. are buried side by side in Smith Cemetery next to the plot of Easter's parents, Mathew and Mourning Wood. Easter's two husbands are buried at Kendrick. |
| Jane M. Moore Nee Dickson 13 Nov 1790 - 4 Jan 1862 |
Jane M. Moore nee Dickson was Mary (Polly) Long's sister. She married Samuel Moore in 1808 and had eight children |
| Payne Infant daughter of O. P. & M. E. Payne October 27, 1878 |
Infant Payne was the daughter of O. Polk Payne and his wife M. E. Lane Payne, and the granddaughter of John H. and Rebecca Payne. She is buried next to her aunt, Nancy Ellen (Ella) Payne Smith. |
| Frances Arnold Shackelford 2 Feb 1788 - Oct 1862 Born in VA Footstone with F.A.S. Richard Shackelford, Jr. |
Frances and Richard Shackelford are buried side by side with a fairly new-looking headstone. They were the parents of three children who married into the Green family: Ludy/Ludia, whose first wife was the oldest Green daughter, Lucinda; Sarah, who married David Green; and Nancy Ann, who was William Green’s second wife. They were neighbors of the Green family back in Henderson County, Tennessee. Their oldest son, Elliott Fishback Shackelford, was also a resident of Smith County, and along with Ludy, made a name for himself in local community affairs. |
| John B. Smith 29 Nov 1855 - 13 Aug 1928 Lizzie Smith |
John B. Smith was the son of William J. Smith and his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Eakin Smith. After his father's death, John continued to live with his mother and younger siblings at least until he was 24. It is not known if the grave next to his, identified as "Lizzie Smith," was his wife, child, or some other relative. |
| J. H. Smith 21 Jul 1843 - 28 Jun 1878 Ella Smith Footstone but nothing on it |
James H. Smith was the son of William. J. and Nancy Long Smith. He married Nancy Ellen (Ella) Payne, daughter of John H. and Rebecca Payne, on December 12, 1871. When James died at age 35, Ella and her four young daughters went to live with her parents. The Payne's closest neighbors at that time were Franklyn and Martha Smith and Joannah Green Ellison and her three children. James and Ella are buried side by side under a huge cedar tree. |
| Two infant Smith graves No dates
Liddia A. Smith |
There are two markers that say "Infant Smith." They are located about three feet from the head of two graves which have identical stone slabs and identical engravings which say Liddia A. Smith, daughter of G. W. and S. I. Smith. Whether these "Infant Smith" stones go with Liddia's markers or if they identify two other graves is not clear. Why there are two identical stone slabs for the same person with the same dates and same poem is also confusing. George W. Smith married Sarah Isabella Smith, daughter of William J. and Nancy Long Smith, on November 23, 1869. In the 1880 Smith County census, they had two daughters and were close neighbors to Sarah's sister, Althea Jane, and her husband, Frank Johnson. |
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Frank Y. Smith |
Franklyn Y. Smith was the son of Henry and Mary Smith, the brother of William J. Smith, and the husband of Martha A. P. Green Smith, all of whom are buried nearby. Franklyn was a well-known gunsmith, whose services were used at Camp Ford during the Civil War. |
| Martha Ann Penelope Green Smith 31 Nov 1841 - 15 Mar 1926 |
Martha Ann Penelope Green Smith was the only daughter of William Green and his first wife, Candace Record Green. Martha received the "Penelope" part of her name from her maternal grandmother, Penelope Record. Candace died when Martha was about five. William Green married Nancy Ann Shackelford shortly after the family arrived in Texas. Martha's three brothers were all killed in the Civil War. The first three of her own children died young and are buried near her. |
| Linnie Smith 19 Feb 1861 - 6 Oct 1863 Leeoh Smith William H. Smith Footstones with L. S., F.Y. S., W.H.S |
Linnie/Lenne, Leeoh/Leoh, and William H. Smith were the children of Franklyn Y. and Martha Green Smith. It is believed that Linnie was a girl. The 1870 census identifies Leoh as a male. At least these three children of Frank and Martha died young; two other graves marked "Infant Smith" may also have been the burial places of their offspring. All of these children's graves are in a line with the graves of their parents. One main headstone gives Frank's and his children's names and dates. Footstones give initials or first names. |
| Henry Smith 28 Jul 1795 - 1878 Small footstone with HS Mary Smith W. J. Smith Mary E. Smith |
One tombstone identifies the four graves of Henry J. and Mary Smith and W. J. and Mary E. Akins Smith. Henry and Mary were the parents of William J. and Franklyn Y. Smith. Mary Smith’s death date is unknown, but it is thought she preceded Henry in death because the 1870 census shows Henry living with Franklyn and his family. William J. Smith was one of the men instrumental in starting the Hickory Grove School, once located near Kendrick Cemetery on Grande Blvd. Mary Elizabeth Eakin Smith was his second wife, his niece by marriage, and twenty years his junior. |
| Mrs. Mourning Wood 28 Nov 1807 - 29 Jun 1877 Footstone with MW Mr. Mathew Wood |
Mathew and Mourning Wood are buried side by side with a common headstone very near the northwest corner of the cemetery. The Woods were both born in Georgia and lived first in Rusk County before coming to Smith County by 1860. Mathew was a Justice of the Peace in 1862 and 1865. He also did property appraisals and ran for the Office of Smith County District Clerk in 1860. The Woods' daughter, Sarah/Sallie, married Hesekiah F. Rice on Christmas Day, 1866. Their daughter, Easter, married George Longley, Sr. She and her son, George, Jr., are buried next to the Woods. For a time, the Woods' son, J. William, lived with the Longleys, and Easter and her young son lived with Sallie and Hesekiah Rice after Easter was widowed. |
| In addition to these grave markers, there were at least six mounds of old bricks and stones which probably marked other graves. Several metal markers, such as those used by funeral homes, were evident, but many had no readable information in them, or the top plate was missing entirely. Because of the rapid deterioration of this area, it may be that Jonathan and Anna Green, William Ellison, and other family members were buried there over a hundred years ago, and their final resting places have been obliterated.
Of the five graves which were identified in the 1960's, but which no longer have markers, four can be supplied some personal data. The 1960 cemetery survey noted these headstones which cannot be found today: |
| Nancy Ann Shackelford Green 31 Oct 1824 - 23 Sep 1858 Baby Tennessee Yeager Green |
Nancy Ann Shackelford Green was the daughter of Richard and Frances Shackelford and the second wife of William Green, all of whom are buried nearby. When William and Nancy married in Smith County in April of 1849, William was a widower with four young children, ages 5 to 13, and fresh from a move from Tennessee. During her marriage, Nancy had six children of her own. Her oldest son, Sion Record Green, was named after the father of William Green's first wife. Sion married Julia Minor Smith, daughter of William J. and Mary E. Smith. One of Nancy and William's children who did not survive was Tennessee Yeager Green, who lived only six months. This child is buried in one of the graves for which a marker cannot be found. |
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Elizabeth Weaver |
Elizabeth Weaver was the spinster sister of Anna Weaver Green, and aunt to William Green. After coming to Texas, she lived for a time with her brother, Green Weaver, in Hopkins County. Her death date was noted in some papers in Joannah Green Ellison's Bible. |
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McDuffee, M. |
M. McDuffey was the child of Daniel and Elizabeth Stamps McDuffey, who married in Smith County October 28, 1858. They lived in the Omen area near other members of the Stamps family, who eventually married into the family of Mary Ann Green Riddle. |
| William ____ | The only remaining grave which was partially identified in the 1960's belonged to someone named "William." Because the grave of Joannah Green Ellison's husband, William, has never been located in another cemetery in Smith County, it may be that this partial identification marks his final resting place. |
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