SNOWHILL TEXAS

This information was compiled by Randy Presley.

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History of the Hayes Cemetery and some of the People who are buried there.

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The reason why I give a history of the Hayes Cemetery is because that cemetery and the Bethel Baptist Church are an integral part of the history of Snow Hill.

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The Hayes Cemetery is located about one mile northeast of the Titus-Morris County Line at the crossing of this line on Texas State Highway 49. It is carved out of lands now (January 1, 1979) owned by Guy Hunt of Dallas, grandson of Anglo Saxon Hunt. [2003 note: Guy is deceased and the land is still owned by his daughter.] The Hayes Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in the Snow Hill area. It is about one mile northeast of the old town site. It was on a road that ran from Snow Hill toward Wheatville and on into Arkansas. This road has long since disappeared; and now the cemetery is isolated from any public road, although there is a passable lane through two gates and over private pasture land leading to the cemetery.

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The first monument-recorded burial in the cemetery is that of Clemetine Butler (born December 11, 1858; died March 5, 1859). In addition to the monumented graves, fifty others can be identified from rocks or depressions in the soil. There are probably others that have been completely lost. Near the cemetery there was said to have been a Baptist Church by the name of Bethel, and this later became the Snow Hill Baptist Church. No evidence of the church now exists. John Massey, buried in the cemetery in 1882, was the pastor there when Solomon Hayes Price was converted and entered the ministry. John Massey came to Titus County about 1847. He is listed in the 1850 census of Titus County as being 30 years of age and his wife, Emily, as 28 years of age.

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The following is from writings of Traylor Russell made in 1979 so bear this date in mind as you read what follows:

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[Traylor recorded all of the monuments in both Snow Hill and Hayes Cemeteries. Below I have entered what he refers to above as "Page 15" relating to the Negro section as well as what he recorded for the fenced area in Page 14.]

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William Hayes came to Titus County about 1846. He purchased the land on which the Hayes Cemetery is located. It is not know whether there had been burials prior to his purchase, but there were burials during his ownership. When the land was sold to A. S. Hunt in 1903, two acres were dedicated for the cemetery.

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Buried in the Cherry Cemetery in Morris County is the wife of William Hayes, Margaret Hayes, who died on August 25, 1847. Also buried there is M. D. Hayes, son of William Hayes b. May 13, 1847; d. March 5, 1848. The Cherry Cemetery is located about three miles north of the Hayes Cemetery. It has had no care for many years and will soon be lost and forgotten.

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In the 1850 census of Titus County, William Hayes is shown as being 30 years of age, born in North Carolina. His children were: Margaret, girl, age 9, born in Tennessee; James K or possibly James P., boy, age 5, born in Tennessee; Milly, girl, age 3, born in Texas; and George, boy, 1 month, born in Texas.

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William had married a second time in 1849, and this wife was Nancy Emeline. She is listed in the 1850 census as being 18 years old and was the mother of George.

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Solomon Hays, William's brother born in North Carolina, was listed in the 1850 census. His family consisted of Milly, his wife, age 45 and three children: Candace, girl, age 18, born in Tennessee; Nancy, girl, age 16, born in Tennessee; and Milly, girl, age 11, born in Tennessee.

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James Hayes, age 21, is also listed in the 1850 census. I do not know whether he was a son or a brother of Solomon. Cynthia, age 22, was his wife and Lydia or Lyndia, age 2, their daughter.

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The family of William Hayes is shown in the 1860 census as: William Hayes, age 46; N. E. Hayes, age 26; Margaret Hayes, age 18; James P. Hayes, age 15; Milly Hayes, age 12; G. W. "George" Hayes, age 10; A. Hayes, age 7; C. C. Hayes, age 5; and S. E. Hays, age 3.

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And again in 1870 census: William, age 50; Nancy E., age 37; George W., age 18; Acemith, age 18; Christopher, age 12; Asbell W., age 9; Josephine, age 5; and Viola, age 1.

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There were also other relatives who moved to Texas with William and Solomon Hayes. There was John W. Price, whose wife Mary was a sister of William and Solomon. Among their children was Solomon Hayes Price, the last person to be buried in the Hayes Cemetery. He is shown in the 1850 census as being 10 years of age in the 1860 census as being 20 years. In 1860 his wife B. J. "Bedie" was listed as being 23 years of age; and they had two children- J. W., boy, age 3; and William H, boy, age 10 months. There were other children born later, one of whom, Emily is buried in the Hayes Cemetery.

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Living in the Snow Hill community was John Henderson, buried in Snow Hill. He was first married to Eliza Box, daughter of James F. Box, who patented a large tract of land in the Snow Hill area during the Republic. There were said to have been two children of this marriage, twins named Jim and Mary. Prior to 1860, John Henderson married Milly Ann Hayes, who is listed in the 1860 census as M. A. Henderson, age 21. I had been under the impression that she was the daughter of William Hayes, but this could not be so. He had a daughter named Milly, and so did Solomon; but William's Milly was only 12 years old in 1860, while Solomon's Milly would have been 20 or 21 depending on when the census was taken. So Henderson's wife must have been Solomon's daughter.

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Also buried in the Hayes Cemetery is W. H. Johnson b. 1860 d. 1894. He was married to Josephine Hayes, and they had four children, Willie Justiss, wife of Joe Justiss; Oboe (or Obie) Johnson; Nora Johnson, wife of Allen Johnson; and Hayes Johnson, late of Mt. Pleasant. Another daughter of William Hayes, Lelia (called Viola in the 1870 census), married Charley Smith, who is buried at Snow Hill. Lelia died in 1902 and is buried in the Hayes Cemetery. No census of the Hayes families show a Lelia and William's Viola comes nearer than another in age to Lelia Smith. If I am wrong, I hope that some member of the family will give me the correct information. Several of Charley and Lelia's children are buried at the Hayes Cemetery. Charley Smith and Josephine Hayes Johnson married about 1904. They are buried at Snow Hill. Buried at the Hayes Cemetery is Oneal Witt. He is the grandson of William Hayes, and his mother, Betty, was a daughter of William Hayes.

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The Hayes Cemetery is now fenced and is very well kept. The fence covers about one half acre. Lying north of the fence is a Negro cemetery covering about one half acre, where there are a few monuments which are listed on page 15. There rocks marking other graves. These are probably slaves or the descendants of slaves who lived in the vicinity. This area is not fenced, and these monuments will be broken and lost in the years to come.

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Traylor Russell, January 1, 1979

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2003 comments by Randy Presley are below:

 

The old road from Snow Hill to Wheatville mentioned above probably closed many years ago and may have been replaced by another road, which is now FM144, that runs from Cason to Omaha, TX. This road bypassed the Hayes Cemetery leaving it in a very isolated location that can now only be reached by driving through gates and pastures to a thick grove of woods. There is a sign on FM144 pointing to the gate leading to the Hayes Cemetery. The cemetery is fenced with a chain link fence and maintained by the same caretaker of the Snow Hill Cemetery. The perpetual care fund of Snow Hill Cemetery also includes a separate fund for care of the Hayes Cemetery, which is administered by the trustees of the Snow Hill perpetual care fund.

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Also of interest, there is a Historical Marker on the east side of FM144 just north of the Hayes Cemetery Marker. This marker relates to the history of the Valley View School which stood just East of the marker. There are no remains standing of the old school that was attended by children of the community some of which today are now buried at Snow Hill. Valley View was a one room school house of that era in which several grades were taught together. James Howell, a resident of the area and one who attended Valley View, along with others were responsible for getting this Historical Marker installed.

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Additionally, a listing of graves with pictures can be found at FindaGrave.com (linked).

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Photos of the Hayes Cemetery, as well as historical photos, can be found below.