A Texas Historical Marker outside the fence tells a little about the two cemeteries here:
Founded in the 1850s, this graveyard was established to serve the citizens of West Liberty (now Dayton). Although there was no early organization of the cemetery, sections of the burial ground were known by the names of families interred there, such as Smith and Alford. A section reserved for blacks in the early years is now known as Acie Cemetery. Several land acquisitions and donations over the years have combined to bring the cemetery's total size to thirteen acres.
There are many unmarked burials in this cemetery. The earliest documented interment is that of Joseph Monroe Linney, who died at the age of six days in 1880. Other early burials include those of Jane Francis Hunt, who died in 1881, and Marie Louise Schneider Gossie, who died in 1885. Those buried in the Linney Cemetery include pioneer settlers, city and county elected officials, community leaders, members of fraternal organizations, and veterans from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
The Linney Cemetery Association, established in 1903, still cares for the historic graveyard. It serves as a reflection of the area's early heritage, and as a reminder of pioneer life in Liberty County.
(1988)
Linney and Acie Cemeteries Linked in History (
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Liberty County - The Vindictor
Posted: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 9:51 pm
These two cemeteries started out as family cemeteries in the surrounding pastures of West Liberty, now known as Dayton, Texas
They document the past practice of having segregated burial grounds separated by a line or a fence.
Despite the fact that black and white families worked side by side and lived their intertwined lives, it was unheard of to be born, schooled, hospitalized, dine or buried together.
Blacks were always interned outside of the white cemeteries, sometimes adjacent, but often along the back lines without marked graves.
In 2011 the cemeteries are still side by side with metal archways, designating their driveways and are integrated.
An official Texas Historical Marker marks the cemeteries, but little is known of either's history especially of the Acie Cemetery.
Who was Acie? It is uncertain if that is a first or surname. Speculation would tend towards a first name for a female slave owned by the Linney Family, but there is no evidence of this. Acie was a common surname in Alabama and Mississippi.
In some accounts the name is spelled Ocie, but that may have been a misprint by local newspaper editors.
Another fact that is unknown is why exactly is it named Linney Cemetery? Did the Linney Family establish it or was it named for the burial of Joseph Monroe Linney who died at the age of six days in 1880?
It is claimed that the cemeteries started in the 1850s, but the gravestones date from the 1880s and the earliest burials are unmarked.
Families originally set up burial sections, such as the Smith and Alford Sections. Blacks were buried in their own separate sections.
In the early days, most people were buried on the home place and not in a public graveyard.
First burials along with Linney were Jane Francis Hunt in 1881 and Marie Louise Schneider Gossie in 1885.
The Linney Cemetery Association established itself in 1903 and continues to care for the historic graveyard.
The Acie Cemetery Association has been organized since the late 1930s.
About the Linney Family
Michael Linney came to Texas in 1823 with his family, his brother Charles, sister Rebecca and his father, Henry Hugh Linney.
After leaving Wayne County, Kentucky, the Linneys arrived in the Ayish Bayou District of Texas and registered with the Mexican Government, living there for at least eleven years.
When the Texas Revolution became eminent, the family returned to Catahoula Parish in Louisiana where Henry Hugh Linney died in 1834, leaving his estate to two sons, Michael and Charles.
Michael and his wife Elizabeth, and family returned to Texas settling in Liberty County. He purchased land on the west side of the Trinity River near West Liberty.
Linney operated a ferry across the Trinity River, continued to accumulate land and ran cattle and hogs throughout the river bottom.
Michael and Elizabeth had seven children: John Linney, 1828-1902; Rebecca Linney Pruett, 1830-1885; Mary Jane Linney Peloquin, c1832-1905; Elizabeth Linney Gill, c1836-c1870; Henry Edmund Linney, 1837-1918; Nancy Linney Peloquin, 1841-?; and Martha Linney Toups 1842-1908.
Early residents named Linney Creek for the family and many descendants still live in Southeast Texas.
With donations of additional lands since their founding, the Linney and Acie Cemeteries now comprise thirteen acres.
Ironically Michael and Elizabeth Linney were buried in the French Cemetery near Dayton.
Sources: Liberty County Historical Commission and the Linney entry by Patricia Wilkinson Anderson, Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Vol. 1.