{"id":275,"date":"2020-03-25T20:57:23","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T20:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/?p=275"},"modified":"2022-01-29T16:36:34","modified_gmt":"2022-01-29T16:36:34","slug":"cresson-community-crossroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/biography\/cresson-community-crossroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Cresson, Community Crossroad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Shirley Robert Smith <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Cresson Cemetery\n\n\nMr. ALBERT L. CRENSHAW by deed dated July 1, 1895, and recorded\nin Vol. 92, page 523, Deed Records of Johnson County Texas,\nConveyed the hereinafter described land to the people of the\nTown of Cresson, Texas, and Country Tributary thereto for cemetery\npurposes for the sum of $10.00.\n\nIn 1934 Cresson formed a CRESSON CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, which was\norganized for the purpose of maintaining the said Cemetery at Cresson,\nTexas, and operating and maintaining the cemetery located upon said\nland, which association is operating and will operate without profit\nbut having a definite corporate identity:\n\nNow, Therefore, Know All Men By These Presents, that I, the said\nA. L. Crenshaw of Johnson County, Texas, in consideration of the\nsum of $1.00 to me in hand paid by said Cresson Cemetery Association,\na corporation, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, and in further\nconsideration of the correction of said original deed and for the\npurpose of making the grantee therein definite and fixed, and for the\npurpose of enabling the said grantee herein of operating and maintain-\ning said property as a cemetery and burial ground, have granted, sold\nand conveyed, and by these present do grant, sell and convey unto\nthe said Cresson Cemetery Association, a corporation, of the County\nof Johnson and State of Texas all that certain tract or parcel of land,\n\nBeing a part of the Johnson County School Land known as survey No.5\ndeeded to me by Fred T. Vickers by virtue of authority in him vested\nby the Commissioners Court of Johnson County Texas, by its order\ndated February 10, 1891, Record Book 46, Page 570, to all of which\nreference is hereby made.\n\nBeginning at a stake 316 2\/3 feet east of the N.W. corner of the above\ndescribed land; Thence E. 408 feet to a stake for corner; Thence\nS. 419 feet to a stake for corner; Thence W. 408 feet t-o a stake for\ncorner; Thence N. 419 feet to the beginning, containing 4 acres\nrights and appurtenances thereto and in anywise belonging unto the\nsaid Cresson Cemetery Association, a corporation, its successors\nand assigns forever.\n\nAnd I do hereby bind myself, my heirs, executors, and administrators\nto warrant and forever defend all and singular the said premises\nunto the said Cresson Cemetery Association, a corporation, its\nsuccessors and assign, against every person whomsoever lawfully\nclaiming or to claim the same or any part thereof provided never-\ntheless, that the above described property shall i.e., perpetually\nused as a cemetery or burying ground.\n\nWITNESS my hand this 28th day of April, A. D. 1934.\n\n                    A. L. Crenshaw\nVol. 293, pages 365-366-Deed Records of Johnson County, Texas.\n\nLike the naming of Cresson is uncertain, so is the exact date of\nthe first burial in the Cresson Cemetery. The original deed is\ndated July 1, 1895. There are at least 11 people buried in our\ncemetery with graves ones dated prior to 1895. There are two\nmarkers with 1885 as death dates. The first Crenshaw buried here\ncarries a death date of February 15, 1895, a few months before deed\ndate.\n\nSome of the first burials in our area were made on property later\nenclosed by the Slocum ranch. These few remains were removed and\nreburied in our Cresson Cemetery. Perhaps some of these are the\nearlier dates just mentioned. Dr. W. H. Jones was the first person\nburied here after the cemetery was deeded. He died July 20, 1895.\n\nMy memory of our cemetery started when my little sister Charlene\nwas buried there October 26, 1932. She died of diphtheria at a\nfew days past the age of two. I was eight years old at this time.\nMy family's grief, especially my Mother's crying and screaming over\nher loss has never left my memory. There were at least two other\nsmall children who passed away at about the same time my sister died.\n\nThe cemetery originally was enclosed with cedar posts and a sheep-\nproof fence with barbed wire on top. There were many big cedar trees\ngrowing in it and a mixture of smaller trees and vines growing along\nthe fence row, scattered there by birds.\n\nIn early years when someone passed away, their grave was dug by\nvolunteers from Cresson and surrounding areas. The time for dig-\nging was spread, and many responded to the call. I also remember\nwe had an outdoor toilet and a tool shed beside it. The tools for\ndigging were kept in this shed. These two buildings were old and\nsoon fell prey to vandals and thieves. It was decided to tear them\ndown .\n\nMr. I. B. Price then kept the tools in his barn and would bring them\nto the cemetery with his team of mules and wagon when they were\nneeded. He also usually hauled off the excess dirt or deposited it\nin places where needed on other graves.\n\nMany times the only way we knew someone had died was to see a tent\nup in the cemetery. It was furnished by the Crosier Funeral Home\nof Godley.\n\nIt was considered to be bad luck to count the number of cars in a\nfuneral procession in my early years.\n\n\"Uncle\" Charlie Strain is the only black person I know of to be\nburied in our cemetery. He had been a houseboy for the Thomas\nfamily all his life and was the only family he had. His dying re-\nquest in 1933 was to be buried by or close to the people he loved.\nIf this could not be done, then he wanted to be buried under a\ntree on the Thomas ranch. The cemetery board granted his request,\nand he is buried in the last grave on the right side of the center\nroad that runs through the cemetery - next to the Thomas family plot.\n\nThrough the efforts of the Cresson Cemetery Association, formed\nin 1934, a cemetery fence fund was organized. Enough money was\nraised to tear the old fence down and erect a new cyclone fence\nin 1958. Also a new double gate was installed with an arched sign\nover the entrance which reads, CRESSON CEMETERY. Another double\ngate was put in on the east side of the front for easier access\nto the older section of the cemetery. The cemetery was reworked\nby volunteers and became a place of beauty\n\nThe Cresson Cemetery is located one mile from the town itself,\non the old highway 171, now bypassed by the new road. It is\nlocated on high ground and affords a view so pretty that you have\nto see it to believe it. Cresson is in clear view, and so is the\nblue-colored Comanche Peak to the west. You can see many of the\nranches, with cattle grazing on the hillsides, from whence came\nmany of the people who are buried here.\n\nMany improvements have been made to our cemetery. Perpetual care\nis now available. Once a year, as has been done for as long: as I\ncan remember, a cemetery work day has been set aside the first Sat-\nurday in June. A lot of concerned people attend and clean their\nlots, as well as other people's lots who cannot attend or have no\ndescendants. They bring food and share it together. Afterwards\na short business meeting is held. People visit for awhile, then\nwalk through the cemetery paying respect again to our loved ones\nwho have passed on. Many new flowers are placed in the cemetery\nas expressions of love.\n\nThere are several Civil War Veterans buried in our cemetery, at\nleast one Spanish American War Veteran, several World War I and\nWorld War II Veterans, and one Vietnam Veteran.\n\nMyrtle Price said her husband, J. D. Price, went with an undertaker\nin 1924 to Fort Worth and brought back the remains of John Kirkendall\nwho was killed in France in 1918 during World War I. He was buried\nin our cemetery in 1924.\n\nMore recently the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Granbury donated a\nflag pole and flag to our cemetery. It is greatly appreciated,\nadds color, and is a tribute to all our veterans. Mildred Milburn,\nDawn Scarbrough, Helen Long, and others placed flags on the graves\nof 38 veterans buried in our cemetery for Memorial Day, 1987.\nThe flags were removed at sunset.\n\nYou never visit and leave without having a feeling of pride and\nlove for our Cresson Cemetery.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Shirley Robert Smith The Cresson Cemetery Mr. ALBERT L. CRENSHAW by deed dated July 1, 1895, and recorded in Vol. 92, page 523, Deed Records of Johnson County Texas, Conveyed the hereinafter described land to the people of the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biography","category-cemetary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3785,"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions\/3785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/granburydepot.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}