Graham-Mason Cemetery is located southeast of Irene on
CR 3449 in Hill County. It has been restored by the
Graham-Mason Cemetery Association with iron pipe fencing
added, broken tombstones repaired, and a Texas
Historical Marker and Texas Historic Cemetery Medallion
have been placed on the site. According to some family
history, slaves and former slaves were buried in and
around the site, and there is at least one grave marked
only with rocks.
The above information was obtained
from
Judy Graham.
Jennie Margaret Melton is buried at Graham-Mason
Cemetery. She was the wife of my great-granduncle,
Francis Lee Turner. According to the family lore, when
Jennie and their infant son Claude died just months
apart in 1887-88, Frank Turner was so devastated that he
left their two daughters, Mattie and Lizzie, with his
brother John Joseph Turner and disappeared, possibly to
South America, and was never seen again.
Graham-Mason Cemetery was the first cemetery in Texas to
receive both a Texas Historical Commission marker and a
Texas Historic Cemetery medallion.
A
very special thanks to Frank & Judy Graham, who very
graciously drove a long way from their home to meet me
at Graham-Mason Cemetery on July 22, 2006 so I could
inventory and photograph the cemetery.
