Contributed by Charles Anderson, Sep 23, 2011, last edited Sep
30, 2011 [ph6hjb@gmail.com].
Total records = 861.
The current cemetery is located on FM 262 about two miles north
of Thalia, Foard, Texas. Thalia is located on US 70 between Vernon
and Crowell.
The original cemetery was located south of Thalia near a spring,
just west of the old wagon trail road. The road went from Mangum,
Oklahoma thru Chillicothe, Texas, thru what is now Thalia on to
Benjamin, Texas.
It is not known when the first burial was, but there was a rock
marker carved with “M W died 1848. It was moved to the current
cemetery. Due to communication in the 1800s there was usually
a quick and quiet burial. The first known public burial was in
1878, for a child named “Coatney” (bitten by a rattlesnake). With
the burial of the child there came a feeling throughout the community
that the settlement of Thalia (Paradise) was here to stay.
The land was heavy, tight land and when it was wet it was almost
impossible to get to or from the old cemetery. In early 1900,
John Garland Thompson let area families start burying loved ones
on the hill north of Thalia. Family members started moving loved
ones and markers to the current cemetery. In 1906 cemetery trustees,
D. C. Sullivan, T. A, Johnson and Mode Haney purchased 4.1 acres
in trust for burial purposes only.
There are many unmarked and unknown graves due to no markers
or markers that were made from wood or stone and have vanished
over time. Several markers had been covered with drifted sand
but they have been uncovered or raised. There are over 600 headstones
visible, many double for husband and wife. There are 185 known
children under age 15 buried in this cemetery.
For more information contact: Mike Price at deprice2002@yahoo.com,
phone: 940 552 7390 or
Jane Carlton at jcarlton@srcaccess.net, phone: 940 655 3544
I have taken the information about each person from markers,
death certificates, funeral records and information given by friends
and family. This is complete to Sep 20, 2011.
