Thursday, March 29th, 1866

To day Ed. Jones left on a collection tour up the Country [to Houston County]. John Carr arrived from Smithfield on a flat boat with 83 Bales of Cotton on board. I am at work at the warehouse. My Cough is rather worse than it has been for some time back. Capt. B.L. Taylor came down and I advanced him 150$ on 2 bales of Cotton. Weather variable and cool.

Tuesday, February 13th, 1866

To day I worked a little down at the Warehouse. Mr. Morrison & Taylor came down and let Col. Wrigley settled in full with them. Frank [Stewart] is still confined to his room and very sick. Roberta [Downes Halyard nee Hall] is better. I am still suffering with my afflictions. all the children are suffering with sore eyes. Hicks work in the garden. Albert worked all day for Mrs. Beale* [Elizabeth Lemaire Beale nee Waring] plowing. Weather variable & cool.

*This Mrs. Beale is a 3rd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog.

Saturday, December 1st, 1860

To day I went to Dailey's to attend to the Suit against Taylor & recovered a judgment against him for $10- & costs. Charley Hall, Alex Baker, John Williams, Darby, Masoline, Albert, Joe & Bill with Martin, Daniel & Brown worked on the levy. Father came home with me & remained for dinner. in the evening I went to Mothers & remained all night. weather clear & cool.

Sunday, April 1st, 1860

To day in the forenoon negro Dan was buried. In the evening I went fishing and caught 53 fine perch. Weather clear and windy.

---

There is no mention of where this burial took place . . . but there is a Hall family cemetery . . . now marked with a Texas Historical Marker . . . and the wording on that marker is as follows . . .

Hall Cemetery. Joshua James Hall (1790-1871) gave a portion of his land on this site about a mile from his homestead to be used as a burial ground. Hall Cemetery was already in use when freedmen French Taylor (1842-1937), Bob Denby, & Alf Warfield petitioned Hall for permission to bury their dead in the graveyard. Hall agreed, & the cemetery was used by both Anglo & African American Settlers. The earliest marked grave is that of MARY A. SHARP (1843-1876). Hall Cemetery had several owners during the 20th century. A 1997 count revealed 29 marked & more than 105 unmarked graves. Descendants of early settlers continue to care for & maintain the land. (1998).

As indicated above, the earliest marked grave is that of Mary A. Sharp (1843-1876) . . . aka Mary Alexandrien Lemaire . . . aka Nellie . . . who is a 2nd great-grandma of the Keeper of this family history blog. But if the named gentlemen talked to Joshua James Hall about "permission to bury their dead in the graveyard," then that had to have occurred before Hall's death in 1871. The marker is located on FM 229, 10.9 miles NW of Crockett.