This cemetery, located a little over a mile northwest of Richland Springs, Texas on Richland Creek, is probably the oldest cemetery in the county. It was named for Amaziah R. "Big Uncle" Woods, an early settler in the area, who donated the land and helped fence this half acre with sandstone blocks to establish the settlers' first cemetery. This cemetery was located near the old Duncan's Fort which was built in 1859 by the Amaziah Woods, John Duncan, and John Hall families as a protection against the Indians. Fort Duncan later became the town of Richland Springs and is now designated as an historical landmark of Texas. Each fall during those early years, the settlers would move into the fort and remain there throughout the winter. When spring came, they would return to their homes and land to plant and harvest their crops. All the early deaths in this area were buried in Big Uncle Cemetery, many of which are now unmarked graves. There are many interesting stories about the people buried in Big Uncle Cemetery which provide an insight into the way the settlers lived and died. These stories stress the hazards that these people faced daily. The earliest marked grave with an inscription is that of Amanda Keese Hudson, 41 years old, who died in childbirth in 1859. She and her baby are buried together. The last burial was that of Jasper Brown, 82 years old, in 1929. There is, also, a tragic story about a very early family who moved to the area around 1854. In 1869 the father of this family, Daniel Riley Harkey, died within 15 days of his wife's death, leaving 13 children under 17 years of age to survive on their own. One of these children was Dee Harkey who wrote Mean As Hell about his life. His sister, Sarah Harkey Hall, also wrote a book, Surviving On the Texas Frontier, which tells of the hardships the 13 children faced living by themselves after their parents died and tells how she handled the tragic deaths of her three brothers who were killed in gun fights. These three brothers, a sister, her parents, and three of her children are buried in Big Uncle Cemetery as well as other Harkey and Hall family members. These three Harkey brothers and another young man who is buried in Big Uncle Cemetery each died at the age of 21 in gun fights. John, one of the Harkey brothers, was killed in a gun fight near his home in 1878. A copy of The San Saba News dated Jan. 12, 1878, tells of "a terrible tragedy (that) occurred at the store of S.E. Hayes on Richland Creek, when John Harkey and Augustus Stephenson had a ‘personal difficulty' and shot and killed each other." Both men are buried near each other in Big Uncle Cemetery. Another brother, Jim, was killed in a shoot-out in the Texas Panhandle in 1880; and Mose, a third brother, was also killed in a gun fight in 1888 in the Texas Panhandle. Another early settler, Alexander L. "Beardy" Hall and his son moved to Richland Creek in 1855 and later Beardy served on the first jury panel in San Saba County in 1857. In 1863 he was killed and scalped by Indians and was buried in Big Uncle Cemetery. His son later found and killed the Indian who was carrying his father's scalp and wearing his hat. There are two Civil War veterans buried close to each other in Big Uncle. Peter Lee died in 1884 and is buried beside his wife and daughter. G.W. Handley's stone has no dates, but does have the inscription that he was in Co. A, 41 Missouri Inf. In the April/May 1974 issue of Frontier Times, in an article about Big Uncle Cemetery, Chris Weatherby has this to say about the conditions of the cemetery: "Nobody has been buried there since 1929. It's truly a place you wouldn't want to be caught dead in - and time is running out to make it more inviting…" For the past 50 years much of the cemetery has been obscured by trees, briars, weeds and vines and only partially cleaned several different times until the complete clean-up and restoration was organized in July of 1999 by Billy James "Bill" Hall, gg grandson of "Beardy" Hall, with help from Renee' Maxcey and Gwen Hall Ware, gg granddaughters of "Beardy" Hall. During this 1999 clean-up, all undergrowth has been cleared away and all that can now be seen in this cemetery are six huge oak trees and the very old markers of 103 graves.
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Many tombstones, including Big Uncle's stone, had fallen over several years ago due to animals digging in the graves and under the stones. Many of these were broken, so these markers were repaired and straightened at this time. A new gate has been put up and additional posts have been added around the wire enclosure to replace the old cedar posts that have rotted and fallen to the ground. Regular mowing and maintenance will be done from now on, as well as regular spraying to keep the briars and vines under control. Memorial contributions from many family descendants of those buried in the cemetery are helping to finance this clean-up and restoration. These contribution and additional contributions will be listed in the San Saba News from time to time. Only 53 of these markers are inscribed and identified, leaving us to wonder about the people and the stories that lie buried in all the unknown graves. Big Uncle Cemetery is the final resting place for many people who lived and died during the early years of San Saba County. Preserving this cemetery will preserve much of the history of this early time.
Louann Hall
A Big Uncle Cemetery Photograph Page has been added-
Please visit the original Big Uncle Cemetery Page
Big Uncle Cemetery Burials
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Special Thanks to Louann Hall for providing this list and all the hard work she, her husband, Billy James "Bill" Hall (gg grandson of "Beardy" Hall), Renee' Maxcey and Gwen Hall Ware (gg granddaughters of "Beardy" Hall) have done.
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