Kellum Family Cemetery
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A native of Virginia, Edward Kellum (1787-1863) was a soldier in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812. He married Karen H. Tabor in November 1812, and they moved to Alabama and Mississippi before eventually settling in McLennan County, Texas, in 1854. The parents of ten children,the Kellums bought land along the Brazos River and established a farm. This location was chosen as the site of a family graveyard sometime before 1863. When Edward Kellum died on February 23, 1863, he became the first family member interred here. Karen Kellum was buried next to her husband in 1869. Other family members buried here include Edward and Karen's sons, William Riley Kellum (1817-1890) and Thomas Smith Kellum (1823-1873). Of the twenty-five know burials, fourteen are marked with illegible sandstone markers. All twenty-five graves are believed to be those of Kellum family members. The last person buried here was Mary Elizabeth Jurney Kellum, widow of William R. Kellum. Following her death in 1895, her will provided for the maintenance of the cemetery. Originally encompassing a one-acre rural site, the graveyard has been surrounded by the growing city of Waco and now contains one-half acre of land.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Virginia-born Edward Kellum served in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812 before marrying Karen Tabor and moving west through Alabama and Mississippi, finally settling along the Brazos River in McLennan County in 1854. He established a farm and, before his death in 1863, chose this ground as the family graveyard, becoming its first burial. Twenty-five graves, most now marked only by illegible sandstone, hold several generations of Kellums; Mary Elizabeth Jurney Kellum, the last buried here in 1895, left provisions in her will to maintain the plot.
Why it matters
The cemetery links a War of 1812 veteran's westward journey to the settlement of central Texas, and the growing city of Waco has since grown up around this pioneer family's resting place.
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Related people
- · Edward Kellum
- · Karen H. Tabor Kellum
- · William Riley Kellum
- · Thomas Smith Kellum
Related events
- · War of 1812
Themes & tags
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