Lindsey-Randolph Cemetery

The first eight burials here were of people Thomas Lindsey enslaved, in the 1840s and 1850s, according to a cemetery history in the Fannin County Historical Commission's files. The 1850 census listed Lindsey as owner of eight slaves, and the history does not record their names. His wife Rebecca was buried in 1855. The same history says a woman named Dicey, once enslaved by Lindsey, lived with her husband Rafe Connelly on a farm he deeded her east of Randolph until about 1920. The family is buried here. The plaque mentions only the first burial.

What the plaque says

Lindsey-Randolph Cemetery Tennessee native Thomas Lindsey (b. 1794) brought his family to this part of Fannin County in 1837. In the late 1840s, Lindsey donated four acres of his farmland for a school and cemetery. The first burial in the cemetery was for one of Lindsey's slaves. The one-room schoolhouse built next to the graveyard served as a community church where funeral services were held. Over the years, this cemetery has served residents of the surrounding area, including the community of Randolph, which was founded in 1887 on the Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas Railroad. The main street in Randolph was located about 3/4 mile southwest of the Lindsey School and cemetery, and a wooden sidewalk connected the two. In the middle 1890s, the Lindsey School was moved to Randolph, and the original school grounds were added to the cemetery. Among those buried here are Thomas Lindsey and his wife, rebecca, and their son-in-law, the Rev. Burwell Cox, who organized several Presbyterian churches in the area. Other graves located here include those of businessmen, farmers, doctors, pioneer citizens and their descendants, and veterans of several wars. (1984)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

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