| Marker Text |
The first burial in this cemetery was that of the Rev. William J. Kirkpatrick, a local Cumberland Presbyterian Minister, who died on May 1, 1867. Shortly after his death, a congregation organized by the Rev. W.G.L. Quaite was named in Kirkpatrick's honor, and a place of worship was constructed later near the gravesite. Land surrounding Kirkpatrick's grave was part of the plantation of Confederate veteran Major Henry Pannill. Pannill's son Joseph died in October 1867 and was buried near Kirkpatrick's gravesite. The following year Pannill deeded some of his land around the burial sites to trustees of the Kirkpatrick Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Within the next decade the community of Telico grew up around the church building and cemetery. After the turn of the century, however, people began abandoning the village for the conveniences of the railroad town of Ennis (6 mi. W), and the cemetery fell into a period of neglect. Telico Cemetery serves as a reminder of the hardships faced by area pioneers. Of the more than 300 known graves, 45 date before 1882 and almost half are of children under the age of ten. Since 1937 the Telico Cemetery Association has cared for the grounds. |
