OLDEST Marked Graves in Criswell Cemetery - Falls County, TX
N 31° 26.251 W 096° 45.269
14R E 713410 N 3480273
A 2001 Texas Historical Marker at the front of Criswell Cemetery notes that the oldest marked graves in the cemetery belong to C.M. Criswell and Thomas Durham, who were buried here within weeks of each other in 1873.
Waymark Code: WM13ZT3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/20/2021
Views: 0
The historical marker reads:
Bearing the name of the community it once served, this site is part of ten acres deeded by Marcus Thomas Durham in 1886 for a school, church and cemetery. By that time it was already an established burial ground; the two oldest marked graves, both dating to 1873, are those of C.M. Criswell and Durham's father, Thomas Durham (1811-1873). In 1950 an association was formed that purchased the nearby school and church building and organized an annual homecoming to create a fund for maintaining the structure and the cemetery. The Criswell Cemetery remains a record of the history of this area of Falls County.
C.M. Criswell was the first to be buried after he died on February 27, 1873. His headstone has taken its share of abuse over time, and it is now attached to a concrete frame for protection. A set of clasped hands are superimposed on a cross at the top of the headstone, while the remaining text is "In Memory" "C.M. Criswell" and died. RootsWeb (and Findagrave) both list his death date.
At the back of the cemetery is Thomas Durham, the second 1873 burial, which took place after he died in March of that year. He is buried next to his wife, Mary, along with their son, M.T. (from the historical marker) and his wife, Arminda. His headstone is virtually identical to that of his wife, and was probably put here as a possible replacement after she was buried; there are some fieldstones near his gravesite, as well as one that looks to be a footstone. A Dove of Peace bearing an olive branch is at the top of the headstone, which has support columns on each side, and the inscription reads:
Thomas
Durham
Born Mar. 1811
Died Mar. 1873
---
May he rest
in peace.
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