Welcome to Martin Oaks Cemetery. Our story begins during the construction of the 1870 census, when William and Rebecca Martin were recorded living in Newton County, Arkansas. William was 63 and Rebecca 57- yet they still had two teenage children living at home, James and Nancy. In just two generations the family had traveled from South Carolina to Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas. By 1877, their first son William Jr. settled with his family in Denton County Texas.
Family seems to have pulled William and Rebecca toward another state, but human vulnerability might have been a factor. The next record of the Martin's was of William's death, in 1884. He is buried in Wear Cemetery in Collin County, a good distance away from this area, which was once the "Martin Family Ranch".
While there is an unknown marked grave from 1875, Rebecca Martin is the first recorded burial here. She survived her husband for 15 years and died in 1899. Presumably she was taken care of by her husband's family. I couldn't exactly connect Rebecca to the next Martin buried in this family plot, David B. (1878-1911). It seems his parents, David M. and Sarah Margret Martin owned the ranch. David had an astonishing lifespan, living from 1835-1930. He was born near the start of the Texas "revolution" and died during The Great Depression.
There were other families who buried there dead here- surnames like Stanton, Arnold, Taylor, Windsor and Wells. Some of these early graves are children. A few of these graves are veterans of the Civil War.
Hiram Arnold (1836-1917) served as a private in the 29th Texas cavalry. This unit played a key role in the development of the area. North Texas at the time was considered the wild frontier, remote and vulnerable to Indian raids. Local leaders successfully kept this and other regiments at home, guarding the Indian Territory. That is, until the Confederacy was losing so badly they reassigned Arnold and his fellow soldiers to Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Arnold returned home physically safe and lived another five decades until his death just before The Great War.
Another permanent resident here, James Gordon Wells (1837-1921), served with the 19th regiment of the Tennessee Cavalry. Wells served under Brig. Gen. Nathan B. Forest. Wells was in the regiment while Forest galivanted across W. Tennessee, forcing men to join their rebellion and skirmishing with Federal Troops at Parker's Cross Roads, Thompson Station, and Chickamauga. After the battle for Atlanta, the regiment ambled across Alabama and Mississippi until their surrender.
By 1967, the cemetery seems to have expanded beyond its initial purpose as a family grave site on a private ranch. That year a one-month old baby, Lewis J. Martinez, was buried here. Another infant, Linda Martinez, added to the list the next year. Up until 1983, mostly infants and decedents of earlier burials were laid to rest here.
Eventually, the cemetery was taken over by the "Martin Oaks Cemetery", a private company that also offers cremation services for the surrounding area. Historic preservation in Texas has always been pathetically followed, which led to many private family plots laying to waste semi-abandoned and mostly forgotten. They are now only visited by decedents of the old graves and geocachers. This cemetery is remembered for its continued use. There was a teenager buried here weeks before I placed this cache.
Please feel free to explore the grounds and visit the Texans I introduced above- so long as you don't interrupt a funeral. This is of course an active cemetery, squeezed on a residential street in obvious view of several houses. You are looking for a cammo'd container, ziptied to a tree. Be careful in firmly closing the lid. Please be respectful, do not cache at night and park along the cemetery side of the road if needed. Take the time to hunt a cache and reflect on the temporary splendor of life.
Congrats to Mottley81 for the FTF!