Honey Springs Cemetery

By Frances James

This three acre cemetery has also been called the Coming Home, the Home Coming, and the Queen City. It is located near the intersection of Overton and Illinois on the west side of the Trinity River. Bulova and Cotton are short streets that dead end at the cemetery. The land in the cemetery is a portion of the Dugold MacFarland Survey of 1280 acres. MacFarland received a patent for Bounty Land from the Republic of Texas for his participation in the War with Mexico.

As happened many times after this war the government was encouraging new citizens to come to these newly acquired areas. Land managers tried to find buyers for this undeveloped land. John Nolen was one fo the land managers and MacFarland assigned his patent to Nolen. Obviously, Nolen did not find a buyer as 640 acres of this survey was deeded by Nolen to Aaron Overton in 1851 for payment of back taxes. The Tax Assessor and Collector in Dallas County at this time was Ben Merrill.

Virginia native Aaron (1784-1860) and Rachel (1787-1875) Overton were one of the first families to come to the area we now know as Dallas County in 1844. His sons, Aaron, Caswell, John and their families plus William Perry Overton, who was still single, came to Texas at various times during the next three years. William erected a mill on land owned by his father. The Ovetons all received large sections of land through the Peters Colony land grants. William ran the mill on the banks of the Trinity River. It was one of the first mills in Dallas County and farmers came from miles around to have their grain ground. In 1860 Aaron died and William inherited this portion of his father’s land. The Overton’s farm was called Honey Springs. In 1868 William sold approximately five acres of the land to George W. Ewell for $100.00. This deed states that Ewell was “erecting a steam mill just below Honey Springs.”

In 1874, Ewell sold a certain parcel of land to John Miller, Augustus Ferrin and Don Hitson, trustees for the Free Will Baptist Church. The deed for this one acre stipulated for the sole use as a church. The area was described as being close to the new railroad, the Houston and Texas Central that passed by here for the first time in 1872. This deed was not filed until 1887. There was no evidence that a church was ever built at this site.

In 1886 a section house for the railroad was built near here and any outgoing mail was hung on a pole for the conductor to grab as the train wen by. Incoming mail was just thrown on the ground.

John Miller and his wife, Lucy, were one of the three slave couples who came to Dallas with William Brown Miller (1806-1899) and his family in 1846 from Alabama.

The large house known as Millermore that was constructed in 1855 was moved to Old City Park in 1970. This house about five miles southeast of the small city of Dallas was probably constructed by the slaves William Brown Miller brought with him when they came to Dallas. This house was originally built on land near the Honey Springs Cemetery.

Gustin (Augustin) Ferrin had also helped organize another church in Lancaster named the St. Paul Freewill Baptist Church in the summer of 1870. He was the first pastor of the church. This congregation is still in existence.

In 1894 William Overton sold an adjacent two acre parcel of land for a church. This deed states that it is also to be used as a church and for burial purposes. The trustees this time were Tom Watson, Alonzo Conner, John Gordon and Steve Abram. There is no evidence that a church was ever built on this land either. Dates on a few of the head stones in the cemetery are about this time period.

One of the sources for this history is a book about Lisbon, a community a short distance south west of Honey Springs, written by Helen Anthony in 1971. She had assembled a tremendous amount of material and talked with many residents and former residents in the vicinity of the Lisbon Community. In describing the Negro community she mentions John Miller, one of the trustees of the Freewill Baptist Church. The church building she describes was probably at the Five Mile Community and was also used as a school house.

Two of the teachers mentioned were Callie Hicks and her sister Pearl Hicks. When no teacher was available the children were taught by “Uncle” Ambrose. Abrose tarver had been a slave in Chattanooga, Tennessee where his main responsibility was to “mind” the children of the white family. A tutor came to the house each day. Ambrose listened and in this way learned to read and write, to play the piano and learn music. Callie Hicks was later a teacher at Booker T. Washington High School.

Another source for information is Alice Brown who was born in 1922. Her mother had a book she used to record the funds collected from the families to help maintain this cemetery. Alice has also saved copies of the announcements and programs of the funerals of many family members who are buried at Honey Springs Cemetery. The following names are from pages saved by Alice Brown from an old family bible. Many of these are buried at Honey Springs Cemetery.

• Deaths
  • Williams, Job died March 1936
  • Rivers, Ed died 1957
  • Miller, Oscar died 1956
  • Smiler, Ed died June 18, 1952
  • Smiler, Tennie was born in 1872 and died June 23, 1922
  • King, Albert died December 31, 1923
  • Bowie, Hattie died January 16, 1927
  • Smiler, Henry died March 30, 1932
  • Hines, Eddie died September 10, 1930
  • Hines, Melvin died June 24, 1924
  • Hines, Earl died October 28, 1946
  • Hines, Eva died October 20, 1950
  • Hines, Henry died February 12, 1935
  • Howard, Campbell died July 6, 1930
  • Knight, Johnson died April 10, 1932
  • Cooksie, Mattie died April 5, 1957
  • Fain, Credy died January 23, 1940
  • Mastin, Dickin died February 12, 1947
  • Shepard, Emily died January 22, 1947
  • Calop, Emery died September 25, 1915
  • King, Julia died August 30, 1946
  • Bowie, Hulda died February 5, 1950
  • Hoover, Emma died October 18, 1935
  • Greg, Mary died March 1835
  • King, Oscar died September 6, 1958

Among Alice Brown’s papers is a statement from the Black and Clark Funeral Home concerning Mr. Charlie Rand. The statement contained charges of $793.50 for picking up the body at the V. A. Hospital and burying it at Honey Springs Cemetery. The service was at the True Light Baptist Church, November 21, 1966. He was survived by his wife Blanch and his brothers, Claude Rand, Frank Rand, and sister, Katie Brown. Blanch Rand, aunt of Alice Brown, died October 17, 1980.

Other funeral services held at the True Light Baptist Church with burial at Honey Springs included:

Mrs. Essie Cookslie, born September 6, 1890, the daughter of Nelson and Tennie Smiler and wife of Mrs. Chester Cooksie, died December 26, 1966. Four sisters, Blanch Rand, Willie Wells, Elnora Woods, Mattie Skinner, and one brother, Gano Smith, survved her.

Mrs. Annie King, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Davie Armstrong was borh 1888 and buried January 23, 1963. Oscar King and Annie Smiler married on March 13, 1911. Mr. Oscar King passed September 6, 1958.

Mrs. Jessie Hawkins born September 15, 1894 and also the daughter of Nelson and Tennie Smiler, wife of Joseph Hawkins, died November 4, 1965. She was survived by five sisters Essie Cooksie, Willie Wells, Blanch Rand, Mattie Skinner, Elinor Woods, Brother Gano Smith and one aunt, Lemma Bright.

Mr. Eddie Smiler, husband of Willie Mae Daniels, son of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Smiler was born Febryary 18, 1899 and passed away on June 22, 1952. Two children survived him.

There are two veterans of World War I buried at this cemetery with headstones furnished by the government. Ralph Curry was a private with the 165th Depot Brigade and died June 13, m1942. Louie Wright’s headstone says, Texas Private with the 165th Depot Brigade and he died Christmas Eve 1938.

In comparing the names on the papers loaned by Alice Brown and the names on the eighteen legible headstones at the cemetery, it is evident many graves are unmarked. This is just one family’s record and there are probably others – but unknown at this time.

An inventory of remaining headstones was made February 6, 1999 by Donald Payton, his wife, and father who are descendants of the Miller family. In 1992 the Dallas Park and Recreation department of the City of Dallas, who maintain this cemetery, constructed the beautiful stone fence and gate across the front of the cemetery.

Inventory of Remaining Headstones to Honey Springs Cemetery
As of February 6, 1999

James, Frances, “Dallas County History – From the Ground Up,” Vol. 1, 2007.