Cravens Cemetery

Fannin County, Cemeteries of TX

Submitted by Susan Hawkins

Cemeteries of Texas Coordinator: Dolores I. Bishop

For questions concerning Fannin County, contact Susan Hawkins, CC Fannin County.

The Cravens Cemetery and Cravens Slave Records of Fannin County are provided by Billy Suitor fellow historian and is much appreciated.

Cravens Cemetery is located WNW of the Allen Chapel Community on CR 2999.

I add only this: I found an article noting that a Mr. J.A. Garrison died on the Cravens farm Dec 1906. He was a veteran of the War Between the States. I believe him to be buried here. He was elderly, alone and they took him in.

After the death of William Cravens in Christian County, Kentucky (1845). Mary (McCombs) Craven, his wife, Gershom C., their son, their slaves and a party of friends started from Kentucky to Texas in 1845. Gershom left behind his sweetheart, Zerelda Darnell, their parents thought they were too young for marriage at nineteen and sixteen. The Darnells came to Texas before the fall of the Alamo but the Indians gave so much trouble they were getting ready to return to Kentucky (1837) before their application for a land grant was granted. William and his wife A.E. Darnell had crossed Red River in a boat to attend to some business before returning to Kentucky. The river started to rise and their boat overturned when they started back to the Texas side. William managed to get out safely while his wife drowned. William Darnell returned to Kentucky with his children. He would not give his consent for his lovely daughter (sixteen years old), Zerelda to come back to Texas as Gershom Cravens’ bride. The separation proved too much for Gershom, so when they came on the Cumberland River in Montgomery County, Tennessee, Gershom slipped away in the night to return for Zerelda. They were married at Clarksville, Tennessee, on October 14, 1845.

The Cravens settled on Bois d" Arc Creek north of Windom, Texas. Soon John and Nathan Darnell joined the Cravens in Texas and also a sister, Mary Elizabeth Darnell.

This was a family graveyard. All marked graves are family and there are five unmarked graves of friends.

Slaves of Mary E. Cravens brought to Texas from Christian County Kentucky (1845). Most of these were buried in a cemetery on land owned by Gershom Cravens and his mother, Mary E. Cravens. This plot of land chosen for the Slaves Cemetery was on the Westside of the road west of the Craven’s Cemetery, in Fannin County, north of Bantam community.

List of Slaves

List of Salves Born in Texas

Both lists were taken from records written in the Bible belonging to Mary E. Cravens. Copy made by Willie (Cravens) Holman 1956.