Kellum Family Cemetery

A native of Virginia, Edward Kellum (1787-1863) was a soldier in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812. He married Karen H. Tabor in November 1812, and they moved to Alabama and Mississippi before eventually settling in McLennan County, Texas, in 1854. The parents of ten children,the Kellums bought land along the Brazos River and established a farm. This location was chosen as the site of a family graveyard sometime before 1863. When Edward Kellum died on February 23, 1863, he became the first family member interred here. Karen Kellum was buried next to her husband in 1869. Other family members buried here include Edward and Karen's sons, William Riley Kellum (1817-1890) and Thomas Smith Kellum (1823-1873). Of the twenty-five know burials, fourteen are marked with illegible sandstone markers. All twenty-five graves are believed to be those of Kellum family members. The last person buried here was Mary Elizabeth Jurney Kellum, widow of William R. Kellum. Following her death in 1895, her will provided for the maintenance of the cemetery. Originally encompassing a one-acre rural site, the graveyard has been surrounded by the growing city of Waco and now contains one-half acre of land.

Kellum Family Cemetery is a historical marker in Waco, McLennan County, dedicated in 1989. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.5833, -97.1349 near Waco. The nearest cataloged historic site is A.J. Moore High School (historical marker), about 0.9 miles away. Others within a short drive include William Cameron Park, Proctor Springs, and First Church Building in Waco.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309002914. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.