USGenWeb Project
Emma Cemetery 
Emma Cemetery
HistoryFrom Ralls drive south 4.6 miles on HWY 207. Turn west on dirt county rd 188. (There´s a sign put up by a Ralls Eagle scout Travis Gregory showing to turn there to get to the Emma Cemetery.) Drive west 1.1 miles. Pass the white farm house which is surrounded by trees on north side of road. Drive to the turnrow where the high line crosses the road and continues north. Turn north on turnrow and drive 1/4 mile.
Established 1891
Burial site for 12 Civil War Veterans and Crosby County´s first settlers, Henry and Elizabeth Smith.
Irony of fate played a part in the Emma burying ground. Levi Jones, son of Mrs. Katie Jones who ran the Jones Hotel, said to Jeff Spikes and others standing by, "We have everything now but a cemetery. I guess we are going to have to kill off some old codger and start one since the county is so healthy no one is going to die." Levi was young so he knew he was not the "Old Codger".
It was summer time, wild red plums and purple grapes in the breaks were plentiful. Levi´s mother needed the fruit to make jellies and jams for her hotel guests. Levi took his gun, a two-horse wagon and headed for the breaks for a jog of wood and the wanted fruit. In some way when he lifted his gun from the wagon, it went off and shot him in the heart, killing him instantly. So the Emma graveyard had its first occupant and he was shot just as Levi had said it would have to be done.
(Information from the book Gone, but not forgotten and Through the Years, a History of Crosby County by Spikes and Ellis.)
The first Moore family member to be buried in the cemetery, followed by Aurie Moore in 1928. In 1927 Mrs. Bert Moore (Annie) purchased a small cedar tree which was planted by Richard and Shirley Moore, at the head of Jack´s grave. The Moore family lived 3/4 mile North of the cemetery and each day Grandmother (Addie), Shirley and Richard carried water to the tree to keep it alive. This tree still lives and is the only tree in the cemetery.Submitted by Olive (Creed) Boydstun dated Sept. 19, 1998.
This cemetery surveyed by Boy Scout Troops Post 333, 1963
Cemetery surveyed and mapped by Marcia Lockwood 1989; Map to scale located at Ralls Historical Museum
Cemetery photographed by Linda Hughes June, 2000This is a map made for locating burials in the Old Emma Cemetery; rows read from North to South and beginning on the West side as row 1. (The entrance is on the Southeast corner.)
Map for location purposes only
Last Update: Saturday, 04-Oct-2008 09:44:13 MDTIf you know where the graves listed below are located or the names of the unknowns above, please contact Linda Hughes
Locations unknown:
Alford, Lawrence
Hubert, John 2/13/1920-2/19/1920
Hunter, Tommie
Whited, Child 1931 age 1 year
Williams, Katy
Cemetery List | Home Page | Table of Contents | Helping with this Project
©Crosby County Historical Commission
Crosby County TXGenWeb Project
Webmaster Linda Fox Hughes
