By Frances James (1922 – 2019)
McAdams Family Cemetery
The McAdams Family Cemetery is located in Oak Cliff section of Dallas just south of the Illinois Exit of R. L. Thornton Freeway on the dead end of the 2400 block of Brookhaven that is the service road. This is a portion of the J. M. Robertson original Peters Colony land grant No. 1219. N. O. McAdams dedicated this cemetery site in 1892 “for that the graves of the buried dead preserved into perpetuity.”
The McAdams family consisted of N. O. (1820-1897) and his wife, Mary M. (1825-1882) and two children: Mary (1851-1916) and Thomas (1853-1919) when they came to Dallas County from Tennessee in 1856. A third child, Elizabeth, was born in Dallas in 1862. N O. and Mary had a large farm on Lisbon Road three miles south of what would become Oak Cliff. They were able to manage the farm with help. The 1860 Census shows a farm laborer and three other men living in the same house on this property. N. O. McAdams donated the lumber to build the first school in this area. It was named for him because of his generosity. The Lisbon Presbyterian Church was in 1864 in this building near the intersection of Zangs and Illinois. The cemetery is on a portion of this land.
N. O. McAdams was first elected sheriff of Dallas County for the term 1862-1864, during the Civil War. He was again re-elected for the term 1864-66. His bond was set at $5000.00 and he had only one deputy during this period, J.M. Brown. McAdams served one term as Justice of the peace from 1873 until 1875 before being elected a County Commissioner of Precinct 4 in 1876.
McAdams joined the Tannehill Lodge August 25. 1853 and demitted in September 1890. He then joined the Oak Cliff Lodge No. 705 in August 1891 and demitted June 22, 1897.
The name of N. O. McAdams is on the cornerstone of the “Old Red Courthouse” that was completed in 1892 as he was one of the County Commissioners at that time he served as a Commissioner for nine elections and died in office in 1897. He suffered a stroke and was in failing health for a year before he died. At one time he held the record for the number of years spent serving the public.
An inventory of this cemetery lists mostly family members. The first noted burial was that of a grandchild Alice E. Rogers on April 23, 1882. Through the years the markers and head stones have been overturned and broken, surprisingly most are still legible. There are three infants on the list that are probably the illegible broken pieces.
The William and Matilda Rogers family settled on a farm in Dallas County in 1866. The site of their first farm is now known as Kidd Springs. The family later moved to a farm where Kiest Park is now. The Rogers’ daughter, Nancy Marina Rogers ( 1857-1948) married Thomas A. McAdams in 1877, son of N. O. and Mary McAdams. N. O. McAdams’ daughter, Mary McAdams married William Bedford Rogers (1850-1921) son of William and Matilda Rogers in 1871.
Nancy and Thomas had a son, Roger Owens, in 1888 that only lived one year and was another grandchild to be buried in this cemetery.
The freeway that runs in front of the cemetery was constructed by the Texas Highway Department in the 1960s and the terrain of the surrounding land was changed. Dirt was loaded and dumped on vacant property on three sides of the cemetery, making the cemetery a low spot. This surrounding land is unkempt and overgrown with vines, weeds and trees.
The McAdams Cemetery has been abandoned by the family and through the years the Boy Scouts have cleaned and maintained it. One troop arranged for new fencing material constructed the fence across the front. A large sign has been painted by another troop and extra effort was to keep the wind from blowing it over. Another scout for his Eagle Badge researched the McAdams family and uncovered much information. Lately all maintenance has been by volunteers among the Texas Youth Commission boys who have been required by the District Judge to do Community Service work.
Future plans by Texas Department of Transportation to widen this freeway could impact this cemetery, but the department is aware of the site. An application been sent to Austin to register the McAdams Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery.
Frances James, “Dallas County History – From the Ground Up, Book I,” 2007.
