Grave Won’t Be Unmarked Much Longer - Gainesville, TX
N 33° 37.850 W 097° 07.554
14S E 673825 N 3722799
A story in the September 14, 2018 edition of the Gainesville Register noted the long overdue placement of a headstone at the final resting place of Edgar Stokley, a U.S. Deputy Marshal who was murdered in 1887.
Waymark Code: WM128P9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/30/2020
Views: 0
As always, a copy of this article is available from me upon request should the link go invalid. It reads (slight edits):
By SARAH EINSELEN Register Editor editor (at) gainesvilleregister (dot) com Sep 14, 2018
For years, the grave of U.S. Deputy Marshal Edgar Stokley, who died in the line of duty, has been left unmarked in Fairview Cemetery in Gainesville.
That's about to change, due to efforts by the Cooke County Historical Commission.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, a ceremony dedicating a new grave marker will take place at Stokley's burial site. The event is open to the public.
The historical commission purchased the marker to correct what commission Chairman Ron Melugin called an "oversight."
"As long as I've been here, it's been unmarked," said Melugin, who's lived in the area for more than 50 years. Most people are unfamiliar with Stokley's history, he said. Since his grave wasn't even marked, "I figured we needed to do something about that, and we're doing that now."
Stokley was shot to death during the arrest of fugitive Will Towerly on Dec. 3, 1887, near Atoka in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Towerly had killed another deputy marshal the previous week. Both Towerly and Stokley were killed as a result of a shootout at Towerly's parents' home, where the fugitive was in hiding, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring fallen officers.
At his death, Stokley was engaged to Callisburg resident Josie Peterman, according to information provided by Melugin.
"He was significant enough, we wanted to make sure he had a marked grave," Melugin said. The site was located using the Cross-Timbers Genealogical Society's cemetery directory, drawn from cemetery records.
U.S. Marshals Tony Overstreet and Johnny Kuhlman of Oklahoma will unveil the marker during the ceremony. Mayor Pro Tem Keith Clegg is set to preside. Judge Chris Cypert will speak on the cemetery's history and Melugin will outline Stokley's history.
Local law enforcement including Gainesville Police will proceed from the city police department to the cemetery starting at 9:30 a.m.
Fairview Cemetery is located on Fair Avenue south of O'Neal Street.