Tarrant County, TXGenWeb

Bedford Cemetery

Compiled and contributed by Mike Patterson

 

Recent updates to this page include new information about Lee M. Hammond, James K. Polk Hammond and three siblings; Margaret Neil, Thomas F. and William Leander Miller.

I have checked the funeral home records for Foust Funeral Home in Grapevine and Moore Funeral Home in Arlington. They, along with Lucas Funeral Home in Grapevine, probably placed the majority of the burials at Bedford before 1970.

The oldest records of Moore Funeral Home in Arlington are now in the Jenkins Garrett Collection in the Special Collections Division of the library at the University of Texas at Arlington. The records prior to 1937 are interspersed in journals with records of other Moore business ventures, and have little or no personal information about the persons they buried. In no instances is the cemetery of burial given before 1937. Beginning in 1937 the records are more complete, although for several years the clerk's handwriting is clear but virtually unreadable in many instances.

The records of Foust Funeral Home in Grapevine begin in 1913, and are in volumes stored at the funeral home on Main Street in Grapevine. In most cases, they list at least the name of the cemetery used in each instance. Later records are quite informative and complete.

This is a work in progress, but it still may be helpful for researchers. I have not yet worked in the records1 Mrs. Cushman listed for other unaccounted-for stones.

1Refers to: Cemeteries of Northeast Tarrant County by Evelyn D'Arcy Cushman.


Skip Ahead to Page 2

Two following names on a double stone:
Lee M. Hammond Nov. 15, 1869-Feb. 10, 1962
Lillie A. Hammond Oct. 11, 1879-May 12, 1973 wife
"Lee M. Hammond went to school on this hill, taught school forty-five years. School is out and the teacher is gone home."
Cushman in 1980 found a stone in this area with initials T.H.H. and no dates.

Melanie Bennett brings to our attention that Lee M. Hammond was cofounder of Arlington College, now known as the University of Texas at Arlington. This information can be found in an article on the Handbook of Texas Online. [Thank you to Lonestar for helping us to correct a broken link to this article.]


Three graves following in same lot, first two on same stone:
William Hubert Fitch March 6, 1881-July 25, 1954
Maude January 1, 1882-Apr 5 1958 wife
Edna Loyce Fitch Feb. 3, 1903-Dec. 9, 1980

Two graves on a double stone:
Virgil D. Valentine 1889-1961 IOOF member
Ora L. Valentine 1906-1994 wife

Marvin T. Cook Apr. 3, 1913-Feb. 5, 1971

E. Cook small, no data
W. Campbell small, no data

M. A. R. footstone in east fence

Next two on a double stone:
James Emmett "Pappy" Brazzell Feb. 23, 1921 married Jan. 23, 1942
Roxie Cannon "Mimi" Brazzell July 29, 1919- Dec. 2, 1993

Next two on a double stone:
Robert E. Cannon 1905-1967
Gladys Moore Cannon 1905-1996 wife
Gladys Moore Cannon was the daughter of Jesse S. Moore, who died in 1917, and thus a granddaughter of Milton Moore.

Next two on a double stone:
James W. Mixon Nov. 23, 1854-Feb. 19 1953 Mason
Eugenia S. Mixon June 7, 1858-Oct. 24, 1936 wife - Eastern Star
James and Eugenia Mixon appear in the 1910 census living "In And Near Bedford, Bedford and Euless road." He was born in Georgia to a North Carolinian father and a Georgian mother. James and Eugenia had been married 33 years (c1877), Eugenia had given birth to one child who was no longer living in 1910. They operated a truck farm. Eugenia was born in Louisiana to an father born in Illinois and a mother born in North Carolina. Also living with them was Mr. Mixon's nephew, Luther D. Thomason, who was born about 1883 in Louisiana; his father was born in Alabama and his mother was born in Louisiana.

Next two on a double stone:
Augustus F. Scott 1875-1959
(second stone Jan 28 1875-Oct 25 1959 "Gus")
Mary E. Scott 1874-1956 wife

Another stone in the same plot has:
Augustus F. Scott Jan. 28, 1875-Oct. 25, 1959
Betty French Scott Aug. 20, 1874-Apr. 15, 1956 wife

Adam Euless Cannon July 16, 1884-November 5, 1954
Dona Lillian Cannon Sept. 19, 1887-Feb. 20, 1982 wife
in lot with:
Mac "Vic" Victor Sept. 10, 1919-
Hazel C. Victor Dec. 24, 1909-Jan. 4, 1991 wife

Marlow C. Jordan Nov. 13, 1914-Apr. 12, 1969
Margie N. Dec. 25, 1921- wife - no death date on stone

Russell S. Cromer Apr 24, 1904-July 1, 1963 (Father)

Vola Davis O'Brian Sept. 15, 1918-Feb. 21, 1982 (Mother)

Hardin C. Davis July 5, 1894- July 14, 1945
Amye July 27, 1894-Nov. 24, 1967 wife
adjacent but in a different lot:
Ruby Davis Feb. 1, 1905-Feb. 18, 1936
Winnie G. Russell Oct. 5, 1945-Jan. 26, 1946 our baby

B. Felps Dec. 30, 1910-Dec. 6, 1970
Foust Funeral Home's records show that B. Felps died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Fort Worth. His residence was 501 East Weatherford, Ft. Worth. He was an apartment manager, and had served in the U.S. Army during World War II. His death occurred at 7 p.m. His funeral was held on December 8 at Pleasant Run Baptist Church in Colleyville; J. Williard Morrow of Fort Worth presided. Mr. Felps had been a resident of Fort Worth for 28 years. He died of a cerebral thrombosis suffered one week earlier; the contributary causes were cerebral atherosclerosis and cerebral encepholomalacia. He was divorced at the time of his death. His mother handled his funeral arrangements. He was the son of Andy and Fannie (Cannon) Felps.

Andy W. Felps Feb. 28, 1882-June 16, 1964
Fannie Cannon Felps Dec. 25, 1885-Apr. 30, 1974 wife - buried by mother
The records of J. E. Foust and Son Funeral Directors of Grapevine contain a number of facts about Andy Felps. He died at his residence at 501 E. Weatherford St. in Fort Worth. He was never in the military. He was a retired farmer, landowner, and real estate speculator. His social security number was 455-76-7534. His funeral was held at Bedford Church of Christ. Vancil Wren officiated at the service. Felps and his father, George Felps, were both natives of Lynchburg, Tennessee. His mother's name was unknown. His cause of death was arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease of ten years duration, with a secondary cause of generalized arteriosclerosis of fifteen years. His funeral was held on June 18 at 2 p.m.

Trula Felps Aug. 26, 1904- no death date on stone
[dau. of Andy and Fannie Felps]

Thomas Harry Felps May 19, 1889-July 14, 1911 [son of George and Margaret]
adj.
George B. Felps Sept. 8, 1854-Sept. 30, 1940
Margaret C. Felps Apr. 28, 1859-May 18, 1937 wife
According to information contained in his obituary, George B. Felps came to Bedford about 1892. He was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee on September 8, 1854. His parents were Thomas Felps and Mariah (Black) Felps. His parents and their family appear in both the 1850 and 1860 censuses of Lincoln County.

Margaret Catherine Felps's funeral service was held by Foust Funeral Home of Grapevine. Her funeral record states that she was born April 28, 1859. She died May 18, 1937; the record states that she died at Bransford, and was buried at Bedford on May 19. The funeral record also records a few details of her funeral expenses.

George B. Felps's obituary appeared in The Grapevine Sun on Thursday, October 3, 1940. The poor quality of the microfilm reproduction makes it impossible to make a readable copy of it. It states that George died at the home of his son, Andy Felps, near Bedford. His funeral was held at the Bedford Baptist Church.

George Britton Felps's funeral service was held by Foust Funeral Home of Grapevine. His funeral record there reflects that he was born September 8, 1854 in Tennessee, and was the son of two native Tennesseeans, Thomas Felps and a Miss Black. He died Sept. 30, 1940. The record says he died at Bransford, but his obituary in The Grapevine Sun says he died at the home of his son, Andy Felps, near Bedford. George's funeral service was held on October 2, 1940 and he was buried at Bedford Cemetery. He was widowed and a retired farmer.

George was survived by three children: Andy Felps, a son B. Felps of Bedford, and a daughter Trula Estill of Fort Worth.


J. C. Farrar Apr 14, 1865-Dec. 8, 1926
E. Annie Phillips Feb. 23, 1869-Jan. 7, 1912 wife of J. C. Farrar
Anna Farrar died January 7, 1912
"Mrs. Anna Farrar, wife of Joe F. Farrar, died Sunday morning, January 7th, at the family home after an illness of six months. Besides the husband, two daughters survive. Mrs. Farrar was a member of the Methodist church. Funeral service was held at 10 a.m. Monday at the residence of Rev. D. L. Collie, followed by interment in Bedford Cemetery at 2 p.m." Arlington Journal, Friday, January 12, 1912.

"Wilson" place marker set in a small family plot. Ground appears to have had one burial, but no marker is present. Cushman found a funeral home marker here for Bonnie Eller Wilson, Died 1961, aged 80-1-18.

T. A. Guss Farrar June 26, 1862-Dec. 16, 1913

Jordan Jackson Reeves Apr. 19, 1844-Mar. 22, 1917 (Father)
Mary A. Reeves Aug. 8, 1845-Mar. 14, 1913 wife - (Mother)

William W. Cromer Sept. 10, 1869-Apr. 16, 1949
Vashti Fitch Cromer May 6, 1878-Sept. 29, 1960 wife
adj
Odessa Cromer Oct. 16, 1900-Mar. 11, 1948
adj
Mattie C. Fitch 1858-1942
adj
J. S. Fitch Feb. 2, 1849-Jan. 6, 1918 Mason
"Mr. J. S. Fitch, aged 69 years, died Sunday at his home at Bedford and was buried Monday at Bedford, under the auspices of the Arlington Masonic Lodge. Mr. Fitch is survived by his wife, two daughters, and one son." Arlington Journal, Friday, January 18, 1918.
funeral home marker in same lot, no longer readable
adj Claude L. Trotter 1881-1945

William W. Cromer was born in Franklin County, Missouri on September 10, 1869. He was the son of Louis Clark Cromer (1842-1918) and his wife, Nancy Cromer (1841-1938).

The two elder Cromers lie buried in Euless in Calloway Cemetery. Will Cromer's paternal grandmother, Francis Webb, also came to Texas in the late 1860's and is buried in Southlake in the old Hood Cemetery.

Will Cromer married Vashti Fitch (May 6, 1878-Sept. 29, 1960), the daughter of J. S. and Mattie C. Fitch of Bedford.

About 1914 the Cromers moved to Fort Worth.

W. W. Cromer's last home in Fort Worth was on the North Side at 2511 Prairie Avenue.

W. W. Cromer died in a hospital in Wichita Fallas on September 16, 1949. His obituary obituary appeared in the Fort Worth Star Telegram on April 17, 1949, section 2, page 7. His funeral was held at 2 p.m. at Shannon's Chapel in Fort Worth, and he was buried in Bedford Cemetery.

He was survived by his wife; a son Russell. S. Cromer of Fort Worth; sisters, Mrs. R. H. Bates of Fort Worth; Mrs. Jennie Fitch of Oklahoma City; and Mrs. Nora Blessing of Littlefield, Texas; a brother, E. S. Cromer of Euless; and two grandchildren.


Russell S. Cromer (Apr. 24, 1904-July 1, 1963) is buried near his parents at Bedford.
James B. Fitch Aug 27, 1868-July 18, 1953
adj
Mary Jane Newman 1871-1951
adj
Barney K. Fitch Sept. 23, 1875-Feb. 26, 1944
adj
Thomas Fitch Dec. 6, 1837-Apr 19 1922 (Father)
adj
Catherine Fitch Sept. 10, 1840-July 22, 1923 (Mother)
adj
Samuel T. Fitch Jan. 15, 1878-July 15, 1955

next group all in curb:
Lillian Corbett 1882-1977
W. G. Corbett Apr 9 1876-Apr 18, 1909 Woodman of the World
[1880 census data indicates this man's name was Willie Corbett]
adj
C. T. Corbett Aug 24, 1844-July 17, 1924
Emma F. Corbett Mar 1, 1850-Mar 12, 1926 wife
Charles T. Corbett and several members of his family lie buried in Bedford Cemetery. He was born Aug. 24, 1844. Census records indicate he was born in Pennsylvania.

Charles T. Corbett was married in Arkansas County, Arkansas on May 2, 1875 to Mrs. Emma Parker. They were married by Samuel J. Farer, a minister of the gospel. She was born in Virginia.

Charles T. Corbett and his family are listed in the 1880 census of Arkansas Co., Arkansas as residents of LaGrew Township. The family included Mr. Corbett, aged 31 and a native of Pennsylvania; his wife Emma, aged 32 and a native of Virginia; Charley Corbett, aged 13 and born in Tennessee; Willie Corbett, aged 4 and born in Arkansas; James Corbett, aged 3 and born in Arkansas, and Edward Corbett, aged 5 months and born in Arkansas. It is not yet known who this Charley Corbett is....perhaps a son from a first marriage of C. T. Corbett, a nephew, or some other relative. Since his given name is Charley, it seems unlikely that he is a younger brother of C. T. Corbett.

Census data indicate that the Corbetts moved from Arkansas between and July 1887. Charles Corbett and his family appear in the Bedford area in the 1900 federal census. At the time, his children included Willie G. Corbett (born April 1876), Edward Corbett (born December 1879), Frank Corbett (born January 1883), Georgie (a son born in May 1885), and a daughter, Mildred (born in July, 1887). All the children were born in Arkansas except Mildred, who was born in Texas.

Charles Corbett and family appear in the 1910 census, living along the Fort Worth and Dallas Road west of Bedford. This was probably in the area where modern-day Bedford Road crosses Sulphur Branch. His next-door neighbors were John W. Miller and Mary E. Bobo. In 1910, the Corbetts told the census taker they had been married 34 years and that Mrs. Corbett had given birth to ten children, only five of whom were still living. Interestingly, Corbett said in this year that he and both his parents were born in Ireland, and that the family had emigrated to America in 1845 and had become naturalized. Mrs. Corbett is shown as a native of Virginia as were both her parents. The only other person living with Charles and Emma in 1910 was a granddaughter, Ora L. Corbett, born about 1904 in Texas to an Arkansan father and a Kentuckian mother.

Edward A. Corbett (1879-1972), Charles T. Corbett's son, was a well-known personality in northeast Tarrant County. He was born on Dec. 24, 1879 and died March 8, 1972. His last address was Ft Worth, Texas 76109. Ed Corbett had a son named Charles Corbett. He may be the same Charles Corbett who was born in 1908 and died in Tarrant County on November 18, 1991.


Ben Simmons 1909-1929
Family members report that the death date on this stone is in error. Ben Simmons was still a boy when he died during a buggy accident. There is no record of his death in the Texas vital statistics files.
W. B. Simmons 1854-1925
Laura A. Simmons 1865-1959
See separate history of W. B. Simmons family. Ben, Henry, and Joe B. Simmons were all children of Wesley B. and Laura A. (Miller) Simmons.
Henry E. Simmons 1898-1946
Moore Funeral Home of Arlington conducted Henry Simmons' funeral on June 9, 1946 at 2 p.m. at the Bedford Church. He was an electrician, and his social security no. Was 463-22-4844. He was born in Bedford November 24, 1897 and died June 7, 1946 in All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth.

Joe Bailey Simmons Apr 29, 1905-Mar 16, 1982 PFC US Army WWII
Joe Bailey "Boost" Simmons was never married.

on same upright stone
W. L. Schooler June 14, 1823-Apr 26, 1895 Mason
Susan E. Jan. 30, 1833-Oct. 31, 1887 wife of W. L. Schooler

George Thomas Johnson Oct 19, 1839-Feb 22, 1904 (Grandpa)
This is the husband of Mrs. Louise Johnson, who died in 1918 and was buried at Arwine Cemetery in Hurst.

Mary Anna Johnson Rogers 1877-1959 (Mother)

Myrtal Bates Dec. 18, 1890 infant of R. H. Bates and L. A. Bates

T. H. Hurst 1881-1890

Margaret C. "Maggie" Fitch Jan. 19, 1882-Jan. 1, 1968
adj.
Frank Fitch Aug 17, 1922-Feb. 29, 1924
adj.
"Just Fran" Franchel Gurganus Sept. 9, 1914-June 13, 1940
adj.
Thomas H. Fitch 1885- no death date on stone
Effie L. Fitch 1884-1945 wife

William C. Tatom Apr. 22, 1892-Apr.7, 1984 md. Apr. 19 1920
Sophie Rodgers Sept. 16, 1895-Apr. 3, 1989
adj.
Doris Irene Tatom bd March 11, 1926 dau. of William C. & Sophie

3 in curb
P. Hardy Arthur 1867-1955
Capp H. Arthur 1901-1947
Tisha T. Arthur 1873-1911
No record of Tisha Arthur's death appears in the Texas vital statistics files.

Little Loid Arthur bd April 1, 1894

Eula [no surname] 1889 fieldstone

three on same stone
Marcus D. Arthur Mar. 10, 1834-Feb. 1, 1893
Fannie J. Arthur Oct. 30, 1843-Feb. 9, 1893
Prince E. Arthur Feb. 24, 1869-Jan. 29, 1890
Marcus D. L. Arthur was born on March 10, 1834, in Mason County, Kentucky. He was the son of James Arthur [born about 1797 in Pennsylvania] and his wife, Mary (Beall) Arthur [born about 1797 in Kentucky]. Born "Marquis De Lafayette Arthur," he grew up in a well-to-do slaveowning family. He was still living at home in Kentucky with his parents in 1850. He is found in various records made during his lifetime as "M.D.," "Marcus D.," "Marcus," or "Mark." His wife, Fannie Jane (Arnold) Arthur, was born October 30, 1843 in Mississippi and died in Bedford February 9, 1893. They were married on September 6, 1858. She was the daughter of Levi Arnold, a Methodist minister.

By 1860 Marcus Arthur was working as a farm hand on a ranch belonging to his father-in-law, Levi Arnold, in Lavaca County, Texas. Arthur served as a private in the Confederate Army in Frederick J. Malone's Company of State Volunteers, and later also served in Company E of the 21st Texas Cavalry.

In 1870, Marcus Arthur, his wife, and their five children were living at "Penninsula" in Matagorda County, Texas. M. D. Arthur and his family first appear in the Tarrant County tax rolls in 1876, when they took up residence in Precinct 3. Family sources suggest that the Arthurs had earlier lived in Bedford before moving to Matagorda County, and that they came back to Bedford after the disastrous hurricane which devastated the Texas coast at Indianola on September 15-17, 1876.

In Bedford in the 1890's the Arthurs lived along the south side of present-day Cheek-Sparger Road, just east of its intersection with Jackson Drive. In the 1880 Tarrant County census, they and the Moody family were next-farm neighbors. In 1883, Arthur purchased a tract of land from Margaret Moody, the mother of one of the other three trustees. Marcus D. Arthur died in Bedford on February 1, 1893, only eight days before his wife. Both are buried in Bedford Cemetery. Mary Daggett Lake, "Tarrant County's First Hundred Families," in Magazine Section of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Sunday Record, Sunday, March 27, 1927, page 3. Microfilm at Fort Worth Public Library.


James M. Wheeler Aug. 26, 1879-Feb. 10, 1956
Mamie July 14, 1891-Jan.17, 1982 wife

Mrs. I. T. Keller Mar. 16, 1862-Oct. 2, 1930
I. T. Keller May 27, 1847-Nov. 15, 1924
I. T. Keller's funeral was conducted by Foust Funeral Home of Grapevine. Their records show he died at his home near Grapevine, of heart failure complicated by influenza. His funeral was held at Bedford on November 16 at 2:30 p.m. He was a retired farmer. M. H. Moore conducted his funeral service. Dr. E. C. Bechtol was his family physician. He was born in Tennessee. His parents' names and their birthplaces are shown as "unknown" in the funeral home records.
adj. Sandstone says
M. A. Keller died [Aug. 16, 1890?]
Stone is covered with thick lichens. An unreferenced note about this homemade sandstone includes a birth date of July 14, 1870. There is no footstone to indicate whether this is an adult or child burial.
adj.
Howard Johnson Dec 23, 1908-Sept 23, 1915 son of Mr. and Mrs. W. M.

Jane Stephenson Milne Oct. 29, 1883-Sept. 17, 1960
adj.
Jesse Peter Milne Nov. 27, 1892-Sept. 9, 1930
adj.
Alexander Milne Oct. 22, 1841-Mar. 17, 1923
Elizabeth Sept. 30, 1862-March 1, 1957 wife
[Ollie Mae Milne] Cushman found a funeral home marker here from Crosier-Pearson Funeral Home for Ollie Mae Milne, 1896-1973.

Isaac M. Kimzey Co. D., 13th Illinois Cavalry, Yankee army
adj.
Maude Kimzey Jones 1873-1965
Isaac M. Kimzey is buried at Bedford, one of only a few Union veterans of the Civil War who later came to live in northeast Tarrant County. His grave is marked with a marble headstone supplied by the U.S. government.

Kimzey was born at Pinckneyville, Perry County, Illinois on October 5, 1846. According to the records of Foust Funeral Home in Grapevine, he was the son of Jim (?) Kimzey and a Miss Brown. Their birthplaces were unknown.

Kimzey enlisted in the Union Army for Civil War service on February 25, 1864 at DuQuoin, Perry County, Illinois, for a term of three years. He was promised an enlistment bounty of $300, to be paid in installments. He was an eighteen-year-old farmer, living at the time in the 13th District of Perry County.. He became a private in Co. D, 13th Illinois Cavalry. His enlistment document says he was 5' 6" tall, and had blue eyes, brown hair, and a fair complexion. Other papers in his file say he was 6' tall. During the entire time of his service his regiment served in Arkansas. The 13th Illinois fought in the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry on the Sabine River on April 30, 1864. During the whole of the War, the regiment lost 21 enlisted men killed and wounded as a result of enemy action, and 364 men and officers from disease. Kimzey was mustered out of the army at Pine Bluff, Arkansas on August 31, 1865. He kept his revolver, sabre, and accoutrements when he returned home.

When the Federal census was taken in 1890, Isaac M. Kimzey was a Union veteran of the Civil War living at Baird in Callahan County, Texas.

Kimzey died of malaria and chronic bronchitis at his home near Grapevine on October 29, 1926. His wife survived him. His funeral was held at Bedford at 3 p.m. M. H. Moore officiated at the service.

I. M. Kimzey's widow, Maude Mae Jones, was born November 25,1873 in Belvedere, New Jersey. She was the daughter of John A. Stevenson, a native of New York. She died at the Hurstview Home in Hurst, Texas on January 31, 1965 at 4:37 p.m. According to Foust Funeral Home's records, she had been a resident of Texas since 1900. Her last address was Rt. 2, Box 522, Grapevine. Her son, I. M. Kimzey, made her funeral arrangements. Her funeral was held at Colleyville Church of Christ on February 2 at 10 a.m.


William Adair Williams Apr 11, 1860-June 17, 1939
Claudia Van Epps Sept 19, 1868-May 15, 1951 wife
Moore Funeral Home of Arlington's records show that W. A. Williams of Rt. 4, Arlington, died at home on June 17, 1939. He was born in Georgia and had worked as a contractor. His father was W. A. Williams, Sr., and his mother was a Miss McCandless, both natives of Georgia. Williams's service was held at the Bedford Church at 3 p.m. on June 18, 1939.

Moore also conducted the funeral of Claudia Williams on May 16, 1951 at Moore Funeral Home in Arlington at 4 p.m. She was born in Georgia, and was the daughter of Amos C. Van Epps, a native of New York. She died at Brooks General Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. She was a housewife and a resident of Bedford.


Marion Ray Sexton, Sr. Aug. 18, 1894-Jan. 10, 1942
June Rose Sexton June 14, 1930-Jan. 27, 1932

Albert Guill Oct. 18, 1891 Dec 15, 1891 infant of A. R. and S. L.

A. B. Deacon died Jan. 1, _____ Sandstone
Cushman recorded death date of 1885. The area of the death year has been obliterated by a mower since Cushman made her list.

S. E. Morriss Sandstone . No other data visible on stone.

J. S. Bobo 1863-1908 (Husband)
Texas vital statistics records show this death in Tarrant County on January 31, 1908.

M. Jobe Small sandstone .
Stone is heavily covered with lichens and no other inscription is readable.

Lewis Madison Jobe 1850-1947
Sarah Francis Jobe 1861-1927
Texas vital statistics records show this Tarrant County death on July 19, 1927.

Lee Dewey Cannon Nov. 6, 1898-Aug. 6, 1955 TX S1 USNR WWI and WWII
Amber Alice Cannon June 11, 1896-May 12, 1970

these three in an old rock and concrete curb
Joe E. Clowers July 18, 1931-June 14, 1949 son and brother
Edward Clowers Apr 15, 1911-July 24, 1993 (Shannon's Funeral Home)
adj.
Alice Clowers 1912-1956

Eugene H. Barr May 21, 1892-Jan. 30, 1948 TX Pvt. Co. F 7th AMM TN WWI
adj.
Sarah, A. Barr June 6, 1866-July 26, 1923 wife of I. L. Barr
adj
I. L. Barr Oct. 4, 1857-Jan. 18, 1929
Moore Funeral Home of Arlington conducted the funeral of Eugene H. Barr at 3 p.m. on February 1, 1948 at the Bedford Church. He was a construction worker. The records seem to suggest that he may have had a wife who survived him. He was born in Tennessee. He died in St. Joseph's Hospital in Fort Worth from heart trouble. His father was I. L. Barr, a native of Tennessee.

Cal V. Greer Aug. 28, 1892-Mar. 3, 1953
Minnie O. Greer Nov. 22, 1895-July 14, 1983
adj
Howard L. Greer Dec. 13, 1933-Feb. 12, 1936
adj.
Anthony G. Greer Feb. 12, 1957-Feb. 12, 1957

R. A. Bobo 1869-1930
Texas vital statistics files record Robert Alvis Bobo, died in Tarrant County on Oct. 23, 1930.
adj.
Robert A. Bobo, Jr. Dec. 3, 1903-Dec. 14, 1903

Joshua P. Scott 1873-1937 Papa
Missouri 1877-1966 wife - Mama
same lot, another stone for him:
Joshua P. Jan 9 1873-Apr 13 1937

D. B. footstone
M. J. R. Footstone
(unknown) Large base with no stone present for it

Nancy J. Redmon appears to be born 1836 very eroded

all this in one curb
Dollie Bobo Aug. 20, 1878-Dec. 13 or 18, 1881 dau. of J. H. & Annie Bobo - Very eroded stone
(unknown) footstone adj. marble eroded
(unknown) footstone adj. marble eroded
double stone and kids on same stone:
Joel H. Bobo 1845-1921 Woodman of the World and Mason
Annie T. Bobo 1858-1886
No record of Joel H. Bobo's death is found in the Texas vital statistics files.
Ernest 1883-1883
Carrie 1884-1886
Mary Ann 1886-1886
Dollie 1878-1881

Iva Scott May 23, 1871-Feb. 16, 1877 dau. of A. S. and S. C.

Augustus F. Scott, M.D. 1841-1907
Sarah C. Scott 1842-1936 wife
Texas vital statistics files record that Sarah C. Scott died in Tarrant County on June 4, 1936.
adj to Iva's stone:
Kate Scott Sept. 4, 1880-Nov. 2, 1969

Sam Hayden Ellis Feb. 20, 1922-Sept 14 1932 footstone says "Sammie"
Cushman reports a stone with J.M. in this area. No dates on stone.
four graves taken out of the Spring Garden Cemetery

Mary H. Valentine, Sr. Jan 17 1873-Feb. 19, 1873 dau. of R. T. and M. A.
Infant Valentine b. and d. June 30, 1871 dau. of R. T. and M. A.
Peter K. Matthews Mar. 8, 1824-Feb. 12, 1869
Jesse O. Boyles Feb. 8, 1865- Sept. 30, 1867 sandstone

John W. Miller 1829-1912
Virginia B. Miller 1844-1924 wife
Married July 3, 1861, Came to Bedford from Hawkins County, Tennessee
John W. Miller and his family settled along Sulphur Branch in Bedford in the late 1800's, and established a family which still lives and works in northeast Tarrant County. Like many of Bedford's earliest settlers, they were from the mountains of East Tennessee.

John W. Miller was born in Hawkins County, Tennessee on September 21, 1829. His parents, Sanders and Susan Miller, moved from place to place working small mountain farms before they finally settled down to operate a mill on the Holston River. John grew up working as a farm laborer and he learned the miller's trade early.

On July 3, 1861, John married Virginia B. Stone of the Springdale community in nearby Claiborne County, Tennessee. During the Civil War years and for some time afterwards, they operated a mill on the Holston River in present-day Hamblen County, Tennessee. Both Virginia's parents, Reuben F. and Fetney (Hurst) Stone, were members of pioneer Claiborne County families. John was thirty-one and Virginia was sixteen when they were married. Virginia had given birth to three children by her twenty-first birthday.

By the late 1860's many of the Millers' friends and neighbors were leaving the mountains and moving west. A surprising number finally settled on Grapevine Prairie along the Tarrant-Dallas County line, in the areas of Grapevine and Coppell, Texas. In late 1869 or early 1870 the Miller's packed their belongings into a covered wagon and started to Texas.

Some interesting stories have survived about the trip. Just after they crossed the Mississippi River, they found an abandoned chair. They picked it up, and used it in their home for many years. The Miller children talked about the difficulties of fording streams, crossing the blackland prairie with its deep cracks, and making their way through the tangled pine forests and over the hills. One night while they were camped John Miller found a dead man hanging in a tree. He wanted to call the local authorities, but the rest of the members of the party convinced him they shouldn't get involved.

By the time the census taker arrived in 1870, the Millers had settled near Grapevine. One of the daughters remembered that wild turkeys and prairie chickens were plentiful. Some of their neighbors included old friends from Springdale, Tennessee, including the Corbins and Virginia's sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. John S. Saunders.

John and Virginia Miller had eleven children, only six of whom married and of whom only four had children of their own. They were Margaret Neil Miller (1862-1942); Thomas F. Miller (1863-1947); Laura Ann Miller (1865-1959, who married Wesley Bryant Simmons); Mary Alice "Molly" Miller (1867-1947, who married Dennis J. Connors); William Leander Miller (1871-1945, who married Emma Mahafey but had no children); twins Ellen B. Miller (b. 1875 and died young) and Sallie Jane Miller (1875-1957, who married William Jackson Corbin but had no children); Annie Elias "Lude" Miller (1878-1952, who married W. Oscar Martin), and twins Carrie Bessie Miller (1882-1945, who married Rufus Perry Acton) and the other twin who apparently died at birth without being named. Virginia Miller also had another child, possibly between the births of Will in 1871 and the twins in 1875.

The Millers were still living on Grapevine Prairie in 1880. For a while between 1880 and 1883 they may have lived and farmed near Gainesville in Cooke County on the Belcher Ranch. One of Virginia Miller's great-nieces, Alice (Corbin) Brown, distinctly remembers Mrs. Miller saying they lived for a short time in Oklahoma. A letter in John Miller's handwriting has survived, dated November 29, 1883, in which he seems to be talking about his family's move back to Grapevine which was taking place at that time.

We do not know exactly when John and Virginia Miller moved their family to Bedford. In 1891 they bought a small lot in Bedford from M. F. Minter, but sold it in 1894. Later in 1894 their son, Thomas F. Miller, bought the old Miller homeplace along Sulphur Branch where Bedford Road crosses it today. It contained 170 acres, for which he paid $10 per acre. This farm is now covered by a part of the Airport Freeway and by several dozen upscale homes.

The Millers were a very close family. They held yearly family reunions, usually when Tom Miller was able to be there. The grandchildren were given fried chicken legs and necks to eat, and the adults got to eat the best parts. The Millers had a family band for decades. Will played the guitar and Bessie played the piano. During the Bedford Old Settlers' Reunions, there were sometimes more people at the Millers' house that at the real reunion.

John Miller died at his Bedford home, probably in the fall of 1912. His grandchildren remembered seeing with his long flowing white beard, sitting on his porch or lying in his high-backed bed with a stocking cap on his head. Bessie (Cavender) Simmons remembered seeing his funeral procession winding up the road toward Bedford Cemetery.

Virginia Miller survived her husband about twelve years and died about 1924. She always kept a place set for him at the head of the table.

For a more complete account of the Miller family, see "An Oral and Documentary History of the Lives of John W. Miller (1829-c1912) and Virginia B. (Stone) Miller (1844-c1924)," by Michael E. Patterson (1998).

Margaret Neil Miller lies buried in an unmarked grave in Bedford Cemetery. She was born in Tennessee on June 12, 1862, and was the oldest child of John W. Miller and his wife, Virginia B. (Stone) Miller. She was named after Virginia's sister, Margaret Neil Stone, who married John Sherman Saunders. Known as "Aunt Mag Miller," she was never married. Her nieces and nephews remember her as a tall, straight, lady who was very prim and particular about her appearance. At the Bedford Reunion in the Fall of 1941, she received a prize for being the oldest unmarried Bedford settler present. Her nephew, Tom Acton, remembers that she slipped on some slick pavement at the Isis Theatre on the North Side of Fort Worth and broke a bone. She wasn't able to recover, and spent her last days bedfast in a North Side Convalescent home. She died in the convalescent home or in a Fort Worth hospital on Thursday, July 30, 1942. Her funeral service was held at Oak Grove Methodist Church at Bedford with Rev. Armstrong officiating. Two slightly-differing obituaries for Aunt Mag appeared on the same page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Friday evening, July 31, on p. 27. One announces her funeral on Friday, July 31 at 4 p.m. The other says it was to take place on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. A true Miller to the last, no stone marks her grave in Bedford Cemetery.

Thomas F. Miller, the second child of John W. and Virginia B. (Stone) Miller, was born October 25, 1863, in Tennessee. He may have been named after his mother's brother, Thomas Stone, or after his father's relative and close friend, Thomas Miller. We do not know what the "F." stood for. Perhaps he was given the middle name of his grandfather, Reuben Floyd Stone. Like his sister, Mag, Uncle Tom Miller was never married. During his younger years he worked in Mexico City for an oil company for which he received $1.50 per day. Tom Acton remembers that he saved his money and used some of it to buy property in Bedford. After he came back to Bedford he was a farmer. He spent several years of his later life living at the Miller place in Bedford. He smoked Prince Albert tobacco in a can, and there were Prince Albert cans all over the homeplace. Tom Miller died May 22, 1946, at the Miller house in Bedford, and was buried in Bedford Cemetery on May 24. J. E. Foust of Grapevine was in charge of his funeral arrange-ments. His grave is unmarked.

William Leander Miller, the son of John W. and Virginia B. (Stone) Miller, was born in Texas on July 18, 1871. He may have been named for two of John W. Miller's brothers...William and Leander Miller...or he may have been named for Virginia's youngest brother, William Stone. Uncle Will married Emma Mahafey about 1904 in Tarrant County. They had no children. In 1923, Will and Emma Miller were living at Amarillo in Potter County, Texas. After they left Amarillo, they moved to Dallas where Will worked for the Interurban Company. He was also a skilled cabinetmaker and musician. He died at the old Miller homeplace in Bedford on May 3, 1945, less than a week after his youngest sister, Bessie Acton. His nephews, Henry and Boost Simmons, sat up with him during his last night, and he died the next day. His funeral was held on May 5, at the Bedford Church of Christ. Rev. Efird of Hurst officiated. Although the records at Foust Funeral Home in Grapevine are ambiguous and seem to suggest he may have been buried at Parker Memorial Cemetery south of Grapevine, family members recall attending his funeral at Bedford and there seems to be no reason to suspect he was buried anywhere else. His grave is unmarked.


Emma Gertrude Acton Aug. 20, 1918-Jan. 4, 1939 wife of Paul Caissey
adj.
William Philip Acton Sept. 8, 1922-June 8, 1923
adj.
Howard Perry Acton Sept. 30, 1903-March 1921 no day of month given for death
adj.
Grandmother Acton Descendants' best guess is that this is Rufus Perry Acton's mother, Rhoda E. (Allen) Henley Acton Rutledge. The daughter of Alexander Allen, who was married first to a Mr. Henley, then to James R. Acton on Aug. 22, 1877, then to Joseph E. Rutledge
adj.
Thomas G. Henley no dates
J. Henley and family were living at Bedford at the time the 1870 census was taken. He was a 22-year-old native of Missouri (b.c1848) who owned $120 in real estate and $250 in personal property. His wife, R. E., was 23 years old and a native of Texas. She was Rhoda E. Allen, the daughter of Bedford pioneer Alexander Allen. They were married about 1866. They had at least one child, a boy named B. Henley, born about 1867 in Texas. Also living with them in 1870 in Bedford was a 14-year-old boy named J. Henley, also born in Missouri. He could possibly be a brother of the older J. Henley. In 1870, this Henley family's next farm neighbors were the families of Milton Moore and J. F. Trimble. Mrs. Milton Moore was a Henley from Cole County, Missouri before her marriage to Mr. Moore.
adj.
Rufus Perry Acton Oct. 23, 1878-May 2, 1966
Son of James R. Acton and his wife, Rhoda E. (Allen) Henley Acton. After her marriage to Acton, Rhoda was married to Joseph E. Rutledge.
Carrie Bessie Acton May 10, 1882-Apr. 27, 1945 wife
James R. Acton was the father of well-known Bedford oldtimer, Perry Acton. J. R. Acton married Mrs. Rhoda E. (Allen) Henley, the the daughter of Alexander Allen, one of Bedford's first settlers. Rhoda was born in East Texas in November 1845, probably in Upshur County where her parents were living in 1850. Acton and Rhoda were married in Tarrant County on August 22, 1877.

James and Rhoda Acton have not been located in the 1880 census. They had at least two children: Ben Acton and Rufus Perry Acton. One of Perry Acton's granddaughters says she thinks she may have heard that the Actons once lived in the Indian Territory. There is an R. B. Acton in the census, who was born in 1880 in Indian Territory to an Illinoisan father and a Texan mother. This R. B. Acton's wife and daughter have headstones in Bedford Cemetery. It seems reasonable to suggest that this is Ben Acton, and that his parents were in the Indian Territory when the 1880 census was taken.

In 1883, Rhoda E. Acton was remarried to Joseph E. Rutledge, a widower who had recently come to the area from Wayne County, Tennessee.

Descendants do not now know what happened to James's and Rhoda's marriage, or what ultimately happened to James. Perry Acton, James's son, told his own son (Tom) that he and his brother, Ben Acton, had once met with their father. At that time he offered them an amount of money, but neither of them would take it.

When the Union veterans' census was taken in 1890, Joseph E. Rutledge is shown as a resident of Bransford.

During the 1970's, James R. Acton's grandson, Tom Miller Acton of Bedford, told Mike Patterson an interesting story about his grandfather. It seems that James was a nervous traveler and, having accidentally gotten onto a train which wasn't going where he thought it was, he jumped off. The fall led to his death.

Inside the Acton curb in Bedford Cemetery is a headstone which simply says, "Grandmother Acton." This stone probably marks the grave of Rhoda E. (Allen) Henly Acton Rutledge. There are no readable headstones in any northeast Tarrant County cemetery for Joseph or Rhoda Rutledge.


Olin W. Mumford July 23, 1895-Feb. 10, 1961 Pvt. Texas 380 Motor Truck Co. MTC WW I
Infant Mumford Oct. 13, 1910-Oct. 20, 1910 son of T. J. and Lula

Bonnie May Clark May 22, 1893-Aug. 26, 1910 dau. of R. C. and Sarah E.

All three of these Klines are on the same stone
Constant Kline 1852-1937
Texas vital statistics records show a Bexar County death record for a Constant Kline
on January 18, 1937.
Sarah J. Kline 1858-1922
Texas vital statistics records show this Tarrant County death on February 8, 1922.
Denia Kline 1882-1901
Helen Footstone found by Cushman in the Kline plot.

William Reece Fitch May 23, 1873-Feb. 1, 1959
Nora Bobo Fitch Mar 10, 1881-Nov. 15, 1959 wife
same lot
Walter R. "Postmaster" Fitch Dec. 13, 1912-Dec. 10, 1972
M. Evelyn Wilkerson Jan. 6, 1913- wife - no death date on stone
Olen C. Allen Oct. 18, 1907-July 20, 1991 Tech 5, US Army WWII
Olen C. Allen, was known to his friends and family as Chester Allen. Both his parents, William Rufus Allen and Annie Belle (Cannon) Allen, are buried near him in unmarked graves. When Cushman did her inventory in 1980, the temporary funeral home markers were still in place.

Annie Belle (Cannon) Allen was born in Bedford on August 16, 1880. She died at her home at Bedford at 5:40 p.m. on October 29, 1957. She died of heart congestion of 12 months duration. She was the daughter of Green Cannon and Fronie Haley. Her funeral was held at Bedford Church of Christ on October 31 at 2 p.m.

Foust Funeral Home handled the burials of both William Rufus Allen and his wife.
According to their records, William Rufus Allen was born January 16, 1872. He was born in Bedford. He died at 4:55 p.m. on October 24, 1958 at his home in Bedford. He was the son of Thomas B. Allen. His funeral was held at Bedford Church of Christ on October 26 at 2 p.m.; Tommy Abbot of Smithfield officiated. He died of a cerebral thrombosis with arteriolar sclerosis as a contributary cause. His family physician was Dr. H. E. Wyss.


Bell Holder Mar 9, 1897-June 17, 1932
adj.
Mary B. Holder 1932
Texas vital statistics records show this Tarrant County death of Mary Belle Holder
on May 10, 1932.

Hattie Barr Aug. 19, 1875-Oct. 21, 1950
adj.
John Barr Nov. 9, 1853-June 29, 1941 Husband
Matilda Jane Barr May 12, 1858-Jan. 27, 1933 wife
John B. Barr married Matilda Jane Moore in Tarrant County on Sept. 26, 1878.

Anderson lot, has only a granite place with "Anderson" cast into the curb

Hiram Arnold 1877-1951
Ellen Arnold 1884-1968 wife
Moore Funeral Home records from Arlington show what Hiram Arnold was born August 12, 1877. His address was Rt. 1, Box 145, Fort Worth. He was a farmer. He died October 11, 1951. His funeral was held at the Baptist Church in Fort Worth on October 11. His father was a native of Texas.

Leslie A. Wright July 18, 1873-May 20, 1946 Co. K, 2 Texas Infantry, Spanish American War - Mason
adj.
Alma Gordon Wright Feb. 8, 1875-June 20, 1950 Mother

Arthur J. Griffin 1875-1954
Emma L. Griffin 1880-1960 wife
adj.
Mary F. Givens 1856-1932
Texas vital statistics records show this Tarrant County death as Mary Frances Givens
on January 16, 1932.


Proceed to Page 2

This page was last modified 30 Apr 2016.

Copyright © Tarrant County, TXGenWeb 2001, 2002, 2016. All rights reserved