Historical Marker

Stafford-Tucker Cemetery

Historical marker location:
Bradford, Texas
( just west of junction FM 837 and FM 2961 on FM 2961, 4 mi. west of Bradford)
Marker installed: 1988

The family of Uriah Monroe and Elizabeth Hanks Stafford came to Texas in the 1840s. In 1851 their son, George Washington, married Susan Woolverton and raised his family in Anderson County. After George W. Stafford's death in 1876 his land passed to his three children, William Uriah, Mary Louisa, and James Monroe Stafford. William later sold his interest to his brother and sister and left the area.

The Stafford family became important in the life of the community of Price's Chapel, which was later renamed Springfield. Mary Louisa married John Lewis Tucker in 1871, and in 1897 this cemetery was begun on the family farm with the burial of their infant son, James D. Tucker. James Monroe Stafford was the next person buried here, after he was killed in the line of duty as Anderson County deputy sheriff in 1899. Mary Louisa Stafford Tucker died of pneumonia in 1900 and was buried in the family plot.

Those interred in this cemetery include members of the Stafford and Tucker families, as well as a few neighbors. The graveyard has been cared for by members of the family since its beginning. It serves as a physical reminder of the area's early history. (1988)

Incise on base: Sponsored by James H. and Mamie R. Stafford.