Handley Cemetery
Teville, Mitchell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Site given by John J. Handley (1842-1935), Confederate veteran who settled here in 1892, after living earlier in Georgia and in Smith and Comanche Counties, Texas. A farmer, he lived to see agriculture rival ranching. Teville (named for "T" Junction in road) post office was opened here in 1906; closed 1910. W.B. Berry, with W.H. Badgett, surveyed 4-acre cemetery, 1914. Graves were moved from across road into this ground. In 1945 Mr. and Mrs. E.T. Strain gave one acre to enlarge the cemetery. Four generations of Handley's family and neighbors rest here. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John J. Handley, a Confederate veteran who had lived in Georgia and elsewhere in Texas, settled in this West Texas country in 1892 and gave the land for its cemetery. He lived long enough to watch farming rise to rival ranching on the plains, and the tiny community of Teville—named for a road junction—rose and faded with him, its post office open only from 1906 to 1910. Four generations of the Handley family and their neighbors now rest in the ground he provided.
Why it matters
The cemetery marks the arrival of settled farming on the West Texas frontier, where Confederate veterans and their families transformed open range into homesteads and communities.
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Related people
- · John J. Handley
- · W.B. Berry
- · W.H. Badgett
Themes & tags
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