EARLIEST Known Burial in Fairy Cemetery - Fairy, TX
N 31° 51.104 W 097° 59.127
14R E 595985 N 3524450
A modern gray granite headstone in the northwest corner of historic Fairy Cemetery marks the final resting place of an infant by the name of Salisbury who was born and who died in 1880. This child's burial is noted as the first in the cemetery.
Waymark Code: WM13VQC
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2021
Views: 0
This child has a distinguished final resting place, right across from the plot for Captain Battle Fort, his wife, Sallie, and their daughter, Fairy (Allen and then Phelps), for whom this community was named. Fairy's infant baby is also with the family.
The Salisbury child's headstone reads:
Born and Died
Circa 1880
Salisbury Infant
1st Grave - Fairy Cemetery
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Note the "Perpetual Care" marker next to the headstone. A 1994 Texas Historical Marker at the front of the cemetery provides some history, referencing the 1880 burial:
First called Gap for its geographic setting between two hills, this sparsely settled community became known as Martin's Gap in the 1860s after a man named Jim Martin reportedly was killed by Indians while traveling through the area. When local citizens applied for a United States Post Office in 1884, the name Fairy was chosen in honor of Fairy Fort Phelps (1865-1938), the petite daughter of pioneer settlers Battle and Sallie Fort. Fairy and her father taught area children in a school in their home for many years, and the Fort family donated land to several area churches.
Although the earliest known burial occurred here about 1880, deed records show that this graveyard was not officially set aside as a community burial ground until 1890. Among those interred here are numerous pioneer settlers, dozens of victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic, at least one Texas Ranger, and veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Encompassing three sections, the cemetery contains many distinctive handmade gravestones and other types of grave markers. Maintained by a local association of descendants, the cemetery is a reflection of the area's pioneer heritage.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1880
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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