tombstone tuesday lawson cemetery – hickman county, tennessee

Tombstone Tuesday: Lawson Cemetery – Hickman County, TennesseePosted on February 4, 2014

The first thing that intrigued me about this cemetery were two gravestones which are said to have been carved by

the decedents’ son. They are unique in that the faces of his parents are carved into the back of each tombstone –

the primitive art is striking.

Thomas and Elizabeth Warren Lawson are both buried in the Lawson Cemetery in Hickman County, Tennessee,

along with several other Lawsons and Warrens (Elizabeth’s maiden name). Elizabeth died on September 7, 1883

and Thomas died shortly thereafter on December 21, 1883. According to various sources, their oldest son,

Shadrach Warren, carved their headstones. The hand prints on the back of Thomas’ stone are said to be the hand

prints of his grandchildren, Shadrach’s children, Callie Leona, Etta Lou and Lillie Eveline. The stones were carved

from grindstone taken from Grindstone Hollow near Hassell’s Creek.

According to Thomas’ obituary he was born in Orange County, North Carolina on May 22, 1809. On December 12,

1814, his father James (mother Jurutha Parker) migrated to Tennessee and settled in Bedford County, Tennessee

before moving to Defeated Creek in Hickman County in February of 1818. Thomas married Elizabeth Warren (b.

1812) on March 25, 1830 and their first son Shadrach Warren was born on December 11, 1830. Their eldest

daughter, Nancy, was born in 1832.

In 1833 the Thomas Lawson family moved to Maury County where children Dilcey (1837), William (1839) and

Tacena (1841) were born. One source listed twin girls who were born in 1842 and died in 1843, Isobella and

Sarah. I found a family story at Ancestry.com that indicates that the girls were born en route to Hickman County

when one died and is buried in Kellough Cemetery in Hickman County (no record at Find-A-Grave). The other

twin died later and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Lawson Cemetery.

The family’s final move occurred in March 1843 when they settled at Hassell’s Creek in Hickman County.

Children James (1844), John Thomas (1846), Margaret (1849 or 1850), Joseph (1851), Francis (1853) and Lucy

Ann Tennessee (1858) were born at Hassell’s Creek. All census records from 1850 through 1880 verify the

approximate birth dates of all the children.

Thomas Lawson was a farmer and continued to farm until the last census in 1880. In 1886, the Hickman Pioneer

mentioned:

Tombstone Tuesday: Lawson Cemetery – Hickman County, Tennessee | ... http://historydepot.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/tombstone-tuesday-lawso...

1 of 4 5/13/2014 11:31 AM

Old Uncle Tommy Lawson raised a few peanuts for table use and for the boys to get when they went out

hunting at night. They gave the old man a great deal of trouble about his peas.

His children, Nancy (49) and Margaret (28), neither of whom ever married, were living with their parents in

1880. At the time of Thomas and Elizabeth’s deaths they had eleven living children. Thomas’ obituary indicates

that he was a consistent member of the Methodist Church who died in his right mind.

Various sources indicate that Shadrach was crippled (he was still living with his parents in 1860 at the age of 29),

a Methodist minister, school teacher, blacksmith and farmer. Interestingly, though, I found a note on the 1860

census at the end of William’s record which said “can’t walk” – so perhaps William (who went by “Bud”) was the

crippled child of Thomas and Elizabeth (or the notation was misplaced on the page). William never married

either.

Shadrach married Winnie Warren on July 4, 1865. Elizabeth Lawson’s maiden name was Warren and her father

was Samuel Houston Warren – his son William was Winnie’s father, so Shadrach and Winnie were first cousins.

Tacena married Cornelius Warren who appears to be a first cousin (same grandfather, William Council Warren

who was Samuel Houston Warren’s father). Dilcey married James Anse Warren, her first cousin. Lucy Ann

married Robert Green, whose mother’s maiden name was Warren. Ancestry.com lists several Tennessee records

over the years of Lawson and Warren marriages.


2 of 4 5/13/2014 11:31 AM

It appears that all of the children of Thomas and Elizabeth remained in Hickman County with the exception of

Joseph (Joe) who was enumerated in Fannin County, Texas in 1910, and James who lived and died in Loudon

County, Tennessee in 1910. Thomas and Elizabeth’s children buried in the Lawson Cemetery include: Shadrach,

Lucy Ann, John Thomas, Margaret, Nancy, William (“Uncle Bud”), Dilcey and Tacena. Francis remained in

Hickman County, but is buried elsewhere. One family story relates that Shadrach’s son, John Thomas

(1866-1890), was also a school teacher who was buried with a “winding sheet” because his body had burst. He is

also buried in Lawson Cemetery.

Other surnames in the cemetery are Ardry, Barnhill, Byrd, Dunn, Green, Hammonds, Hudspeth, Murrell, Roach

and Warren – the majority appear to be closely related to either the Lawsons or Warrens. Lawson Cemetery is

very much a “cousins cemetery”.

Everyone have a great day — someday it will be history!

Go to www.historydepot.net for

more information

© Sharon Hall (History Depot), 2014.

Share this:

This entry was posted in Tombstone Tuesday and tagged Elizabeth Warren Lawson, Hassell's Creek, Hickman County Tennessee, Lawson Cemetery, Samuel Houston Warren,

Shadrach Warren Lawson, Thomas Hardin Lawson, William Council Warren. Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Tombstone Tuesday: Lawson Cemetery – Hickman County, Tennessee

One blogger likes this.

Related

Tombstone Tuesday: Shadrach Boaz Surname Saturday: Lawson Tombstone Tuesday: Lycurgus Dinsmore

Bigger

Anonymous says:February 4, 2014 at 10:56 am


3 of 4 5/13/2014 11:31 AM

Diggin' History

And the Shadrach’s continue…gave me a big smile all the way through. Very similar trek of several of my surnames. Great

one!

Reply

Sharon E. Hall says:February 4, 2014 at 11:45 am

Yep another Shadrach — I seem destined to run across that name don’t I? At first I was just going to make the

article about Thomas and then I saw the family links in the cemetery and thought that would be a better article.

Reply

Betty says:April 18, 2014 at 3:05 pm

Love this!! So many of our Hudgins married Warrens also

Reply

Sharon E. Hall says:April 18, 2014 at 3:10 pm

Glad you enjoyed the article .. I found it fascinating, especially the carved gravestones.

Reply

Customized Twenty Ten Theme. Blog at WordPress.com.


4 of 4 5/13/2014 11:31 AM

tombstone tuesday lawson cemetery – hickman county, tennessee

Documents