SEXTON CEMETERY, Box Road, SE, LAWRENCE COUNTY TENNESSEE

Mapping the Location

Linda Hendrix Dean surveying the McMaster tombstones. Photo1/overview of the area Photo3

HARRIS, William M. Aug 1824 - died _____ {unmarked grave}
h/o Mary Catherine Yerger/Yeager {only marker was field rock with WMH on it}
s/o ______ and ______ Harris
HARRIS, Mary, 27 Feb 1829 - 5 Mar 1888 {unmarked grave}
w/o William C. Harris {married 19 April 1847 in Lincoln Co., TN) _______and ________ Yerger/Yeager {sister to Elizabeth Y. Sexton}
HARRIS, Virginia Edna, 1860 {unmarked grave}
d/o William and Mary Catherine Yerger/Yeager Harris
MCMASTERS, J. D. {John Dickey}, 25 Sep 1847 - 1 Feb 1923 Photo3/Appears the stone has fallen:Photo2
h/o Martha C. Sexton {married 3 October 1872 in Lawrence County TN}
s/o William and Mary Annie Ross McMasters
MCMASTERS, J. R., 20 Apr 1874 - 2 Apr 1900 Photo2
s/o John Dickey and Martha Sexton McMasters
MCMASTERS, Martha C., 14 Nov 1850 - 29 Nov 1918 Photo1/Photo2
w/o John Dickey McMasters
d/o John J. and Elizabeth Yerger/Yeager Sexton
MCMASTERS, T. B. "Tommie" Sexton, 2 Mar 1882 - 22 Sep 1882, 6 mos. 20 days Photo2
s/o John Dickey and Martha C. Sexton McMasters
SEXTON, Elizabeth A., 30 Jan 1824 - 19 Aug 1889 Photo1/Photo3/Later photo - after the stone was broken:Photo2
w/o John J. Sexton
d/o _______ and _______ Yerger/Yeager
SEXTON, John J. 1820 - 28 Oct 1868 Photo2
h/o Angeline Elizabeth Yeager [married 4 Oct.1841, Lincoln Co., TN
s/o
SHAY, Lizzie 5 Apr 1899 - 2 Nov 1900 Photo3
d/o W. O. �Ollie� and E. L. �Ella Myres� Shay {married 10 Oct 1897 in Giles County TN}
SHELTON, Cassie abt 1883 - 1935 {unmarked grave}
w/o [1]. R. L. Sakers {married 2 September 1899 in Lawrence County TN}
w/o [2]. Stephen Benjamin Shelton {married 23 July 1909 in Lawrence Co. TN}
d/o James M. Childress and Virginia Edna Harris
SMITH, Jane E. 20 Feb 1865 - 17 Feb 1935 Photo1/Photo2
w/o John Harrison Smith
d/o John and Mary Myers Shay
SMITH, John H. 23 Feb 1868 - 10 Dec 1925 Photo1/Photo2
h/o Jane Elizabeth Shay {married 9 October 1883 in Giles Co. TN}


Information received while researching Sexton Cemetery, [compiled by Sue Davis]
William Harris, born August 1824, died _____, married 19 April 1847 in Lawrence County, TN by W. R. Jones, J. P., to Mary Catherine Yerger/Yeager, born February 1829, died 8 March 1888. Both are buried in Sexton Cemetery near the Williams house, looking across to the cemetery, their graves are toward the back.
Children of William Harris and Mary Catherine Yerger/Yeager Harris:
[1]. James Austin Harris, b. 1848. He once visited his sister Martha when she lived at Anderson, Alabama. My mother remembers him. Only saw him once.
[2]. John B. Harris, b. 1854, married 17 January 1878 by M. E. Erwin, M.. G., Lawrence County, TN Amanda Hays
[3]. Sarah Jane Harris, b. 25 March 1857, died 9 November 1933, married 18 November by D. G. Harrison, J. P., James Patton Williams, b. 30 March 1852, died 24 August 1922. He was the mail-carrier at Appleton, TN at one time.
[4]. Virginia Edna Harris, b. 1860, d. before 1939. This is Cassie Harris� mother. Cassie�s father was James M. Childress {below}
[5]. Martha Angeline Harris, b. 11 July 1863, died 30 April 1928, married 18 February 1880 by C. C. Laurence, M. G. , Lincoln County, TN to James M. Childress, b. _____, d. 30 October 1891 {probable date given by Wm. Henry Childers/Childress}. Wm. Henry changed the spelling of his name from Childress to Childers. Martha A. Childers/Childress buried in Corum Cem.

Cassie Harris had one daughter by R. L. Sakers. Her name was Dovie. Cassie�s daughter, Dovie, visited John Childers/Childress once. My mother remembers hearing this conversation: John kept referring to Cassie as �cousin Cassie�. Dovie replied to him, �Uncle John, why do you keep calling her �cousin�? She�s your sister!. Apparently Martha had taught her children to call Cassie �cousin�. This is how I learned Cassie�s father�s identity.
I talked to a Littrell woman years ago. She and her sister were school teachers. Neither was married. Miss Littrell {Dura} was living in a nursing home in Decatur, AL near her nephew. She told me that Miss Edna {Cassie�s mother} was a very good cook and house keeper. Miss Littrell�s father hired Edna to keep house when his wife was abed during childbirth. This is how I learned her correct name.

Mrs. Helen Williams told me when we visited the first time: �I was present when Miss Cassie was buried. She had always asked to be placed near her mother. There was another grave beside Miss Edna�s, but I don�t know who that was.� Could it be James M. Childress? We don�t know.
No one in the family knows either. No rocks mark burial places of Cassie or her mother, Edna. The spot pointed out as Cassie�s resting place was just inside the gate to the cemetery, a step or two to the left after entering the gate. James Childress was killed by a shot from a gun when a group of people rode up on horseback. Stories told: {i}. James stepped in front of his brother/her brother to protect him. {ii}. James was involved in an argument over a hound. {iii}. James was killed by a vigilante party upset over James fathering a child by his wife�s sister.

The parents of William or Mary Catherine Yerger/Yeager Harris are not known to us at this time.
It is believed that Mary Catherine Yerger/Yeager and Elizabeth Yerger/Yeager Sexton are sisters.
They lived on the same tract of land, and both are buried in the Sexton Cemetery near the site of the Sexton/McMasters house.

Read & Photographed 6 September 2003 by Sue Hendrix Davis and Linda Jo Hendrix Dean
Location: From Five Points go east to Box Road, turn left, go past a dairy barn, at the top of the hill turn left up a lane. The cemetery, surrounded by a chain link fence, is on the left side of lane at the bottom of hill before you get to the home of Jim and Helen Williams, which was once the Sexton/McMasters farm. Directions by Sue Davis.
 

Photographed somewhat by Sue Hendrix Davis with the help of Linda Jo Hendrix Dean (Photo1). Also photographs were furnished by Judy Griffin (Photo2)and three from Randy Hughes (Photo3). Added here 8 Apr 2017 with the permission of Sue Davis for furnishing the bulk of the listing, genealogy and photos.