Early Williamson County graveyard has been referred to as Smalley Cemetery due to its connection with the family of pioneer Baptist preacher Freeman Smalley. Early settlers of this area, the Smalleys were associated with the nearby Anti-Slaveholdinlg Union Baptist Church. Though the oldest grave marker is dated 1853, it is believed that Freeman Smalley, Jr., was the first person buried in the cemetery in 1849. The land on which the cemetery is located was deeded to the trustees of the church in 1854.
The historical marker is in Round Rock, TX, in Williamson County on Farm to Market Road 1460 near Timberline Drive.
Marker erected in 1986 by the Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 13769.)
view internment list - this location is not the cemetery but a memorial
View Historical Marker
Google Map
of memorial
GPS Coordinates
Latitude: 30.525106 - Longitude: -97.652078
Easting: 629320 Northing: 3377746
Anti-Slaveholding Union Baptist Cemetery Historical Narrative by Irene Varan
The Anti-Slaveholding Union Baptist Cemetery (commonly known as Smalley Cemetery) is one of the oldest graveyards in Williamson County. It is located northeast of Round Rock, seven-tenths of a mile north of U.S. Highway 79, on County Road 1460. Surrounded by an old wire fence, it lies on the north side of a road leading in an easterly direction to the Apache Oaks subdivision. [1] The old Double File Trail, which crossed Williamson County, and was laid out by Indians as early as 1830, ran just west of the cemetery. [2]
Members of the Rev. Freeman Smalley family are buried in this cemetery, and it is believed to have been established upon the death of Freeman Smalley, Jr. in 1849. [3] In 1960, Paul
Wilson, Jr. of Galveston, Texas listed the following existing markers:
MARY COX Oct 21, 1811, Died August 17, 1855
MARY SMALLEY the wife of J. K. SMALLEY was born June 17, 1825, Died October 10 AD 1853
- W.(Only these initials on a stone)
- W. P. SMALLEY born August 26 1828 Died August 6, 1857 [4]
Freeman Smalley, Jr. was one of the earliest settlers in Williamson County, having arrived in the fall of 1846 with the families of his father-in-law, Levi Asher, and Dr. W.I. Anderson. These families settled on Brushy Creek about one mile below Wadkins Crossing. [5]
Many of the early marriages in this county were performed by Rev. Freeman Smalley, Sr. and his son, Rev. James Knight Smalley. The first Baptist church services in the county of which any records exist were held in 1847 in the log home of Freeman Smalley, Jr. Reverend R. H. Taliaferro preached the sermon. [6] On January 12, 1854, James K. Smalley deeded to the trustees of Anti-Slaveholding Union Baptist Church two acres of land originally belonging to his brother, Freeman, and believed to be the land on which Freeman's home was located. The deed specified that the land was to be "for the use of the said church as a burying ground". [7]
William M. Smalley, the great grandfather of Freeman Smalley, Sr., is believed to have been born in France in 1697, and to have come to America in 1714. Many of his descendants settled early in Texas, several of whom were among the signers of Petition to Form Williamson County on February 2, 1848. These included Freeman Smalley, Jr., his brother, William A. Smalley, their nephew, John R. Smalley, William Knight, William Knight, Jr., and John S. Knight. ES) William Smalley, son of immigrant William M. Smalley, was killed by Indians about 1762, at which time William's young son (also named William) was carried away by Delaware Indians and held captive for five years and seven months. After being sent by the Delawares on a peace mission to Fort Pitt in about January of 1785, young William was allowed to return to his home. He married Prudence Hoel about 1786. In May of 1792, William Smalley was sent by the Government as a guide and interpreter with Major Alexander Trueman, on an ill-fated mission of peace to the Indians. He was taken captive for the second time. On this occasion, he was aided in his escape by his foster Indian father, and he returned to his family in September of the same year. He died in 1838. [9]
Freeman Smalley, Sr. was born on March 3, 1790, or 1791 to William Smalley and Prudence Hoel. He grew up in what is now Clinton County, Ohio. No record has been found of his ordination, however, it is believed that he was ordained there as a Baptist Minister. He married Catherine Trader in Miami County, Ohio on July 31, 1808. In the War of 1812, he served in Captain Samuel Cox's Company from Clinton County during the period May to September 1812, and during his residence in Clinton County, he preached at the Baptist Church in Liberty Township. [10]
Rev. Freeman Smalley first arrived in Texas around 1822. The purpose of this trip was to search for a sister who had married and moved to Texas some years before. Having had no word from her since her departure, he set out alone to look for her. It is said that he found his sister, Mrs. William Newman, in a settlement on the Red River in what is now Lamar County, but which was thought at that time to have been a part of Arkansas instead of Texas. There, in 1824, he preached one of the earliest Baptist sermons in Texas (if not the first, as some have claimed). [11]
Leaving Texas, Rev. Smalley returned to Ohio, and in 1832 he moved to Vermilion County, Illinois. In 1846 or 1847, he returned to Texas, first stopping in Fayette County. In 1849 he joined his sons in Williamson County. [12].
The 1850 census for Williamson County shows Rev. Smalley with children Moses, Elizabeth, and William in his household. Sons, Benjamin F., James K., and Jesse J., and the family of son, Freeman, Jr. (who had died the previous year), is also known to have been residing in the county at that time.
The children of Freeman and Catherine Trader Smalley were:
- Esther Smalley, born about 1808-1810. Little is known about her life. She is thought to have married a Mr. Whistler, and to have died in Mexico. [13]
- Mary Smalley, born October 21, 1811, married a Mr. Cox. She died August 17, 1855, in Williamson County, and is buried in this cemetery. [14]
- Sabra Smalley, born in 1815, married Robinson Ross. No further information has been found concerning her. [15]
- James Knight Smalley, born July 28, 1819, was also a Baptist Minister. He married first to Mary Purcell, and secondly to Cynthia Ann Stearns on February 20, 1854, in Williamson County, Texas. [16] He later moved to Bourbon County, Kansas, where he died in December 1876. [17]
- Freeman Smalley, Jr., born August 14, 1822, married Nancy Ann Asher on April 14, 1842. He died in September 1849, C183, and was probably the first to be buried on this land which was later to be designated as a cemetery.
- Daughter (name unknown), born 1820-1825. No further records are available. [19]
- Sarah Ellen Smalley, born January 22, 1825, married Aaron Rubel (Ruble) on August 18, 1844, in Vermilion County, Illinois. Her husband is said to have worked on the construction of the State Capitol building at Austin in 1856. Descendants believe he is buried in this cemetery, although no stone remains to confirm this. Sarah died on September 15, 1871, in Falls County, Texas. [20]
- Benjamin Franklin Smalley, born 1826, was married first to Angeline Millican and second to Margaret Wilson. [21] He died in Xenia. Kansas. [22]
- Moses W. Smalley was born on August 26, 1828. He died August 6, 1857 [23], and is buried in this cemetery. Moses married Louisa M. E. Freeman in Williamson County, Texas, on September 5, 1852. His brother, Rev. James K. Smalley, officiated. [24]
- Elizabeth C. Smalley, born in 1831. (25]
- William Anderson Montgomery
Smalley was born on June 18, 1837.
He died on March 6, 1905. (26] He was married to Mary E. Allen in Williamson County on January 13, 1856. Rites were performed by his father. [27]
Catherine Trader Smalley died sometime between 1860 and 1870. [28] No record exists of the exact time or place. Possibly it was because of his wife's death that Rev. Smalley, Sr. left Williamson County in 1866, or perhaps his unpopular views on abolition were a factor in his move shortly after the end of the Civil War. Whatever the reason, he sold his land [29] and moved to Kansas, spending his remaining years near his two sons there. He died in Bourbon County on October 31, 1874. [30]
Addendum Smalley Cemetery
The Smalley Cemetery, established in 1849, is one of the oldest burial plots in Williamson County. It is located northeast of Round Rock, seven-tenths of a mile north of U.S. Highway 79 on County Road 1460. Surrounded by an old wire fence, it lies on the north side of a road leading in an easterly direction to the Hidden Acres subdivision. The old Double File Trail, which crossed Williamson County and was laid out by Indians as early as 1830, ran just west of the cemetery.
Members of the Freeman Smalley family are buried here. In 1960, Paul Wilson, Jr. of Galveston, Texas listed the following existing markers:
FREEMAN SMALLEY, JR. (Grave has no marker)
B 1820-25
D 1849
MOSES W. SMALLEY (Marker badly is broken)
B Aug 26, 1828
D Aug 6, 1857
MARY COX
B Oct 21, 1011
D Aug 17, 1855
MARY SMALLEY the wife of J.K. Smalley was born June 17, 1825, Died October 10 AD 1853
A.W.P. SMALLEY (Author-genealogist Paul C. Wilson
born - August the 26 1828 noted similarity of dates and initials
D--- August 6, 1857, with Moses W. Smalley)
J.W. (Only these initials on a stone)
Freeman Smalley, Jr. was one of the earliest settlers in Williamson County, having arrived in the fall of 1846 with the families of his father-in-law, Levi Asher, and Dr. W. I. Anderson. These families settled on Brushy Creek about one mile below Wadkins Crossing.
The signatures of Freeman Smalley, Jr. and his brother, William A. Smalley, appear on the Petition to Form Williamson County, which was signed on 2 February 1848.
The first Baptist church services in the county of which any record exist were held in 1847 in the log home of Freeman Smalley, believed to have been on the same land where the cemetery is located. Reverend R.H. Taliaferro preached the sermon. On January 12, 1854, James K. Smalley deeded to the trustees of Anti-Slave Holding Union Baptist Church two acres of land which originally belonged to Freeman Smalley.
Rev. Freeman Smalley, the father of Freeman Smalley, Jr., first arrived in Texas around 1922 and visited with a cousin, Rachel Rabb Newman, in Red River County. In 1324, at Pecan Point on the Red River, he preached one of the earliest Baptist sermons in Texas, if not the first as some have claimed. In 1632 Rev. Smalley moved to Vermilion County, Illinois, but returned to Texas in 1846, first to Fayette County and then to Williamson County in 1849.
The 1850 census for Williamson County shows Rev Smalley with children Moses, Elizabeth, and William in his household. Sons, Benjamin F., James K., and Jesse J. were also residing in the county at that time.
Born in Fayette or Greene County, Pennsylvania, on March 3, 1790, to William Smalley and Prudence Noel, Freeman Smalley moved with his family to Ohio before he was two years old. His father, William Smalley, had twice been a captive of the Delaware Indians, the first time having been held for five years and seven months before his release in about January of 1785 when he was sent by the Delawares on a peace mission to Ft. Pitt and then allowed to return home. In May of 1792, he was sent by the Government as a guide and interpreter with Major Alexander Trueman on /4;1 ill-fated mission of peace to the Indians. He was capture for the second time, but was aided in his escape by his foster Indian father, and returned to his family in September of the same year.
Freeman Smalley married Catherine Trader in Miami County, Ohio on July 31, 1008. In the War of 1812, he served in Captain Samuel Cox's Company from Clinton County during the period May to September 1812. No record has been found concerning Reverend Smalley' _s ordination, however, he was one of the ministers at the Baptist church during his residence in Liberty Township in Clinton County, Ohio.
The children of Freeman and Catherine Trader Smalley were
1. Esther Smalley, born about 1808-1810. Little is known about her life. She is thought to have married a Mr. Whistler, and to have died in Mexico.
2. Mary Smalley, born 1811, married a Mr. Cox. It is possible that this was her second marriage, and that she is the same Mrs. Mary Linzey who married Rev. Thomas Washington Cox in Fayette County Texas on September 12, 1848. This marriage was performed by Rev. Freeman Smalley, Sr. She is buried in this cemetery.
3. Sabra Smalley, born in 1815, married Robinson Ross.
4. James Knight Smalley, born July 28, 1819, was also a Baptist Minister. He married first to Mary Purcell, and secondly to Cynthia Ann Stearns on February 20, 1854, in Williamson County, Texas. He later moved to Bourbon County, Kansas, where he died in December 1876.
5. Freeman Smalley, Jr., born August 14, 1822, married Nancy Ann Asher. He died in 1849. His burial was the first in this cemetery.
6. Daughter (name unknown), born 1820-1825-
7. Sarah Ellen Smalley, born January 22, 1825, married Aaron Rubel (Ruble). She died September 15, 1871.
8. Benjamin Franklin Smalley, born 1826, married first to Angeline Millican and second to Margaret Wilson.
9. Moses W. Smalley, born August 26, 1828, married Louisa M.E. Freeman. He died August 6, 1957, and is buried in the Smalley Cemetery. - - No further information is available
10. Elizabeth C. Smalley born 1831 - - No further information is available.
11. William Anderson Montgomery Freeman born 18 June 1837, died 6 March 1905.
Catherine Trader Smalley died sometime between 1860 and 1870. No record exists of the exact time or place. Possibly it was because of his wife's death that Rev. Smalley left Williamson County in 1866, and moved to Bourbon County, Kansas to spend his last years near his two sons there. He died in Bourbon County on October 31, 1874.
Footnotes, References, and Interviews:
1. Historical Round Rock Texas, page 455
2. Land of Good Water, " 118
3. A Forgotten Mission to the Indians, Paul C. Wilson, Jr.
4. Land of Good Water, page 110 S. Land of Good Water, page 120
6. 1850 Census, Williamson County, TX
7. Historical Round Rock Texas, page 87
S. Elsie Waller
9. The History of Baylor University, 1845-1861
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