The Whitehead Cemetery is a small African American family cemetery located in the ghost town of Thurber TX. No one really knows how many people are buried here. Blasterz are going to > GUESS < that there are less than 30 folks here, based o the small size of the cemetery.
A state Historic marker reads as follows:
"WHITEHEAD CEMETERY
The Whitehead Cemetery is a significant reminder of the African American Community that occupied the Thurber Townsite in the early 20th century. When the Texas and Pacific Coal and Oil Company relocated its offices to Fort Worth in 1933, several families remained in their company-owned homes. Albert Whitehead and fellow black residents established this plot south of the former town square for friends and relatives as a convenient alternative to the Thurber Cemetery. The first documented burial is that of Sarah Grant in 1943. Tarleton State University maintains the cemetery as part of the W.K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas Grounds.
Historic Texas Cemetery – 2010"
More fragments of information about this cemetery and its namesake are compiled here, in an article from Microplex News: (
visit link)
"A Little Background on the Cemetery’s Namesake
Albert Whitehead is one of the people who stayed in Thurber. Schooley (LeAnna Schooley, former curator for the W.K. Gordon Center, who researched the cemetery and applied for the stat historic marker -- BMB) said that Albert’s name appears in many of the oral histories in the area. According to Schooley, Albert walked to Thurber by at least 1901. He said he was guided by the haze that hung over the city to know which way to go. He worked in the coal mine as a laborer, in the brick plant and did many odd jobs. Albert was born somewhere between 1862 and 1878 depending on which record was consulted. Stories say he had five wives although research could only confirm that he had two, possibly three wives. The stories also say he didn’t have any children, but research shows that when he was married to one of his earlier wives, he had two children. No one knows what happened to that family.
Research also shows that he went by more than one name. In some records they found he used the name Albert Alcorn. They linked the two names because, according to company records, Albert Whitehead and Albert Alcorn were living in the same house in Thurber.
Albert was remembered fondly by those from the area. He was a large framed man who told big stories and was a good barbecue cook. Albert, who lived into his 90s, was one of the last remaining folks who lived in the area. For health reasons, he moved to Stephenville in the late 50s and died three years later.
Whitehead Cemetery
No one is sure how many are buried in the cemetery, but there are at least four that date to the period of the 1930s to early 1940s. The first documented burial is of Sarah Grant in 1943. She is thought to be Albert Whitehead’s mother-in-law according to oral tradition. The 2nd documented burial was Liza, Albert’s wife. She died at an advanced age at the hospital in Strawn.
Upon Albert Whitehead’s death in 1960, he was brought back to Thurber and buried in this cemetery."