Six small hand-hewn native sandstone tombstones are arranged neatly in a line in High Cemetery, located in the vanished community of Wallace in rural Van Zandt County, Texas.
The stones are arranged in a neat line from south to north, as follows:
A. C. B.
Died Jan. 30th
W. H. B. (Wade H. Blassingame, 1791-1865 by Ancestry) -- BMB)
Died Nov. 30th 1865
J. F. B.
Died Nov. 12th
M. L. D.
D. Jan 6th 1866
H. F. B.
Died 1868
W. H. B.
Died Nov. 13. 1865
Thanks to the Van Zandt County Cemetery page, we have been able to discover that these graves belong to the members of the Blassingame family, although the stones themselves carry only death dates and initials. See: (
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Ancestry was also helpful in finding out a bit more about these folks: (
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"The Blassingames of Van Zandt County, Texas
Posted 20 Oct 2012 by KevinBRobbins
Commissioners Court Minutes The Blassingames of Van Zandt County, TX. can trace their ancestor from the Ile de Rhe, France, through the British Isles, and on to America, as recorded in early records of Glouchester County, VA. Dated 13 Sep 1677. Census records throughout various states tell the history of the Blasingames as they moved from state to state with the opening up of the West. (Source: "THE BLASINGAME FAMILY", by W. Doak Blassingame, 1973).
The Van Zandt County Blasingames have ancestors who fought in every American war from the Revolutionary War to the present, including the Cherokee War, The War of 1812, The Civil War, World War I, and World War II.
The Blasingames took part in the development of Van Zandt County, starting with the pioneer, Wade B. Blasingame, who arrived in Van Zandt County in 1856. Wade B. Blasingame was born in South Carolina in 1814. His father was Wade Blasingame, born in South Carolina in 1791, according to census of Searcy County, AR; his mother, Margaret, was a full-blooded Cherokee. Census place him in Franklin County, TN. in 1850. He married Mahalia A. Smith, who was born in Alabama on Jul 2, 1821, according to family records, or in 1822, according to her grave marker. Legend has it that Mahalia was related to Deaf Smith, a defender at the Alamo.
Wade B. Blasingame was a prosperous farmer near Canton, TX. He died 5 Jul 1891, and his wife, Mahalia, died on 12 Aug 1915. Both are buried west of Canton in the High Cemetery. The family plot contains the graves of six of Wade and Mahalia's children. Their headstones are of native rock (a dark sandstone), with the initials and dates of death carved by Wade, himself. As of 1989, the sand stone markers are badly eroded by wind and rain and the carvings are barely legible. ISSUE: Elizabeth T., born 1839. Silas Alexander, born 30 Nov 1841. Thomas M., born 1845 in Alabama. 4. Mary L., born 1848 in Alabama. 5. "Buddy", born in Alabama. 6. Henry, born 1852 in Tennessee. 7. James F., born in 1854. 8. Ann E., born in Texas. 9. Jeffie, born in 1863, died in 1865. 10. Horace Reynolds, born in 1864 in TX."
Another public member story on this family reads as follows: (
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"Following provided by Don Blasingame:
"He was in Tennessee in 1812 and served in the WAR OF 1812 from that state. He married MARGARET RICHARDSON (CALLED PEGGY, HER INDIAN NAME WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN BELLE BERRY). In 1820 they were in Lawrence Co., TN, and in 1830 in McNairy Co., TN. They moved to Tishomingo Co., MS, in about 1833 and to Searcy Co., AR, in about 1847. Wade moved to Independence Co., AR, in about 1853 and died there in 1865. He is believed to have had a son, WADE B. (my GGF) who married Mahalia Smith in 1837 in Franklin Co., AL. In 1850 they were in Lawrence Co., TN, and moved to Van Zandt County Texas in 1856. " [sic]
"It is my belief that Wade H. was either living with or visiting with his son, Wade B., at the time of his death in 1865." [sic]"
We found a census record on Find-A-Grave: (
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"Birth: 1791
Spartanburg County
South Carolina, USA
Death: Jun. 13, 1865
Texas, USA
1850 Federal Census taken for Campbell, Searcy Co., AR:
Wade Blassingame, age 59, b. SC;
Margaret Blassingame, age 52, b. TN;
George W. Blassingame, age 17, b. TN.
1860 Federal Census for Black Oak P.O., Union, Independence Co., AR:
Wade Blasengame, age 67, b. SC;
Pheoba Blasengame, age 45, b. TN;
Louisa Wrren, age 20, b. NC."