MURPHY CEMETERY - MURPHY
DECATUR/MAXWELL CEMETERY
33.022N
96.605W
Cemeteries of Collin County, Texas, by Joy
Gough
Comfort A.
McMillen moved to the area in 1846. The community was first called Old Decatur
and then Maxwell Branch. In 1888 when the St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad (Cottonbelt)
came through, the name was changed to Murphy. It was named for William Murphy,
who moved to the area in 1850. At one time Murphy was 3 gins, a drug store,
several grocery stores, a post office, a barber shop, an ice house, a blacksmith
shop and a cafe.
James W. Maxwell deeded 3 acres of land for a cemetery in 1886 with the deed
listed in Vol. 28, p 529. Maxwell Creek is on the eastern edge of the cemetery,
with a small creek on the south. The cemetery has several names. Today most
people refer to it as the Murphy Cemetery. It has been neglected for a number of
years. The cemetery is no longer in use. The last burial was in 1966. In 1993 a
cemetery association was formed. In November of 1993 the cemetery was cleaned.
Several stones need to be reset. The cemetery association is trying to make the
cemetery active again. A list of the graves in the cemetery was made by Bev
Zavitz, who wrote LIVING IN MURPHY, TEXAS. She used obituaries as well as stones
in the cemetery for her references.
The Mapsco does not show Maxwell Creek Road connecting with Tom Clevenger Road
on the north. The cemetery they call Maxwell/Old Decatur on their maps is the
McMillen Cemetery. The Maxwell/Old Decatur Cemetery is just northwest of the
Murphy Family Cemetery #55 and about a mile south of the McMillen Cemetery #48.
According to a newspaper article printed in 1972, the earliest grave is that of
Mary Herring, wife of Daniel Herring, and is dated 1843. In SACHSE REMEMBERED
there is a reference from the Herring family Bible that states that the Herrings
did not come to Texas until 1846. Probate records show that Mary Herring died
around 1858. The stone for Mary Herring has since been shattered. Mary Herring
was the first wife of Daniel Herring, who started the Herring Cemetery, which is
about 2 miles south. His mother, Jane Herring is also buried here.
Since the above
writing, the Plano School District has bought the land around the Murphy
Cemetery and is building middle school, high school, and sports complex north
and west of the cemetery. The road to the cemetery lost its County Road
designation.
Murphy
CEMETERY INDEX
Recommended
citation:
Murphy
Cemetery - Murphy,
"CEMETERIES OF COLLIN COUNTY." Collin County,
Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries,
Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
|
