May 25th Handley Cemetery

Simple wooden sign for Handley Cemetery, now part of
Fort Worth, TX

After the Stock Yards on the 24th I drove to Azal, a little northwest of Fort Worth, where I found an RV Park for the night. My spot had a very nice view of a field with a small herd of Angus cows grazing in it. I planned to find the Handley Cemetery, the following day, and look for the grave of Wirt W. Pattillo. Wirt was listed on the 1880 census with his parents and his birth information showed he was born in May of that year. I Googled “Handley Cemetery” to I could find the location and the FindAGrave site came up – a tremendous resource for genealogists.

Confederate soldier flags put out for Memorial Day

I entered “Pattillo” and three burials were listed. I was taken aback to find three infant sons buried in the Handley Cemetery. Previously, I’d known about two infant boys that had died but now I found that there were three. Wirt W. Pattillo was born May 25, 1880, James H. Pattillo, named after his grandfather, was born September 18, 1882 and died November 11, 1883 – just 13 months old, and Infant Pattillo, a son died January 31, 1884. In just three years James and Carrie Pattillo had lost three children. How very tragic. I’d like to know the causes of death but those records were lost in a fire, as I learned later in the day at the Tarrant county Courthouse.

The Handley Cemetery is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places

I found James, Wirt and their brother’s headstones grouped together under a mesquite tree. All of the stones were broken but someone had taken care to prop two of the stones up against the tree trunk. The third was placed carefully on top of a small, concrete vault. Today the cemetery is surrounded by industrial uses but volunteers maintain the fence and keep the grasses mown. A historic sign mounted inside the fence explains that the site served as the cemetery for early Handley Pioneers who came to the area after the Texas and Pacific Railroad A Line arrived in 1876. The earliest burial was in 1878, so the Pattillo children were among the earliest burials.

Three Pattillo sons are buried together. James's headstone is
leaning against the trunk, Wirt's is on the backside, and
Baby Pattillo is in the brownish vault to the right.

James H. Pattillo Sept. 18, 1882 - Nov. 11, 1883

Baby Pattillo died Jan. 31, 1884

Wirt W. Pattillo, born May 25, 1880