Surely its just coincidence that this homemade tombstone is for Edna M Hughes in McCulloch County's Calf Creek Cemetery, when the last homemade tombstone waymark I had approved was for Henry Hughes in Chalk Mountain Cemetery, 147 miles northeast in Somervell County.
I mean, REALLY.
The tombstone for Edna Mary Hughes is made of a square concrete panel with relief lettering that has been pressed into a concrete headstone. The panel has detached over the years, and is propped up on what remains of the pedestal.
Her tombstone reads as follows:
"EDNA MARIE HUGHES
Born Sept. 15
Died Oct. 15, 1927"
Next to her is a grave marked only by a rusted temporary funeral home marker. From Find-A-Grave, we learned that this grave belongs to presumably her brother, Wesley Joe, who was born at an unknown date and who died on 16 Apr 1930.
So -- we checked on Ancestry and found her birth certificate. see: (
visit link)
Her father is Marvin Stanton Hughes, and mother is Edna Sipe.
Brother Wesley's birth certificate on Ancestry lists his date of birth as Aug 30, 1929. Father is Marvin Hughes (age 30) and mother is Silvia Sipe (age 25). See: (
visit link)
Wesley Joe Hughes died on 15 Apr 1930 in Calf Creek of pneumonia due to measles. He was 7 months and 16 days old. See: (
visit link)
In the 1930 Census, we found Wesley living with his family only a few weeks before he died. He has an older brother born in 1923 in New Mexico. Marvin Hughes, his father, and mother were all born in Georgia. Edna Hughes and her mother were born in Ohio, her father was born in Texas.
In the 1920 US Census, Marvin was single and living in Callahan County Texas, working on his father's farm. His father is John W. Hughes of Georgia, and his mother is Dollie R. Hughes of Georgia. In 1900 this same family (Marvin was 2) was living in Navarro County, Texas.
Now we will explore if there is any tie between this family and Henry Hughes in Somervell County. He is not Edna or Marvin's father, but could he be a grandfather to Marvin and great grandfather to Edna?
Henry Hughes was born in 1838 and died in 1909. He was buried in Somervell County Texas, after dying in nearby Erath County Texas. He was a confederate soldier, and his widow got a pension for his service from the state of Texas. From that pension file: Henry and Mary J. married in Bell County TX in 1875. He served in Co E of the 31st Louisiana Infantry. In 1916 (date of application) his widow was living in Alief (near Houston).
In 1870 Henry and Mary Hughes are living in Bastrop Texas with children. He was born in TN, and she was born in Texas. The children, ages 10 to 1, were all born in Texas.
So that's that -- no connection between these two homemade Hughes graves, just a spooky coincidence.