Within the stone wall before you is the Metcalfe-Spence Family plot.
In the flood of August 24, 1882, Charles Metcalfe and his sister, Fannie Metcalfe Spence, lost their mother: Mary Jane Metcalfe, younger sister: Zemula Metcalfe and their uncle: Blake Taylor. The Metcalfe and Spence families chose this hilltop to bury their relatives. You can observe the dates of death on the headstones for all three of these people as August 24, 1882.
Several coffins were dislodged by the floodwaters in the original Ben Ficklin cemetery that was located on lower ground closer to the South Concho River. Reinterments were made from the original cemetery to this site including:
- Francis Taylor (1879), the father of Tom Green County and its first county judge
- Ester Taylor (1879), wife of Francis
- Zemula Spears (1877), wife of then Tom Green County sheriff James Spears
In 2023, headstones were added to previously unmarked graves of Metcalfe and Spence children who died either in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s.
Charles Clinton Metcalfe was the son of Charles B. Metcalfe and Mary Metcalfe and his dates of birth and death are noted on his headstone. Mary Metcalfe died in 1888 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, Texas. Charles B. Metcalfe died in 1941 and is buried in Fairmount Cemetery, San Angelo, Texas.
Three children of Fannie Spence and her husband, Joseph, are buried next to their cousin. Their names, dates of birth and dates of death are unknown. Fannie Spence died in 1913 and is buried in Fairmount Cemetery, San Angelo, Texas. Joseph Spence died in 1919 and he also is buried in Fairmount Cemetery, San Angelo, Texas.
Also located within this stone wall is what is believed to be the grave of Anthony O’Doherty, one-time postmaster of Ben Ficklin, Texas. Between the headstones of Francis Taylor and Blake Taylor is a base for a headstone. Records indicate Anthony’s headstone once resided on this base stone. It is unknown if Anthony is still here or was moved to a different burial site.
To your right in the single grave in the separate stone wall attached to the Metcalfe-Spence plot is Alexander Van Court who was also reinterred from Ben Ficklin’s original cemetery after the flood. Alex was an organizer of Kimble County, Texas when that county was created out of Bexar County. Alex’s daughter, Mary Ann, married William Kelly. While serving as postmaster of a community near here, William named that community Vancourt after his wife’s maiden name. Vancourt, Texas is 18 miles east of this cemetery along US 87.