Location: At the intersection of U. S. Highway 59
and Highway 287 in Corrigan, Texas,
go West on Highway 287 for 2.5 miles and turn right
on Howell Road for 1.1 miles.
Turn right at the cemetery sign on Abbott Spring
Meadows Road for approximately
.4 miles to the Snell-Read property and the "Snell
Place". You will pass the Abbott
Spring Meadows Cemetery and the Watson Place (house)
enroute to the Snell property.
This cemetery is considered a "lost" cemetery in
Polk County since there are no markers and
the exact location on the Snell-Read property is unknown. However,
their are descendants of
both families who have helped to provide some of the names of
those who were buried there.
Amos Snell and his family came to the Asia community
area of northwest Polk County in 1857.
They had traveled by wagon from Jackson County, Florida where they
had lived about ten years.
They were previously from Georgia where all the children were born.
Amos Snell and his wife,
Cynthia Johnson Snell had thirteen children, but only eight of
them came to Texas. Several of the
older children married in Florida and remained there. Amos Snell purchased
his homestead of
172 acres on Paces Creek on November 13, 1858. The Snell Cemetery was
established in 1859
with the death of their son Christopher Hardy Snell. After Amos
Snell's death in 1864, Cynthia
Snell sold the homestead to her son Isaac Newton Snell for his agreement
to take care of her in
her old age. She continued to live at the "Snell Place" with her bachelor
son, Crawford Columbus
Snell. After her death Isaac N. Snell sold the property to his brother
C. C. Snell on Sept. 15, 1872
who continued to live there with his niece Victoria J. (Snell) Meadows
and her husband Bartlett R.
Meadows. In 1876 the property was again sold to Mr. W. Elias
Meadows who owned the
property until he sold it to Mr. L.L. Read on May 10, 1902.
The following members of the Snell Family are believed to be buried in the Snell-Read Cemetery:
Snell, Amos, born 1803 Ga. died
1864
Snell, Arina Elizabeth, born 1838
died prior to 1880
Snell, Catherine, born 1841 died
prior to 1880
Snell, Christopher Hardy, born 1828
died 1859
Snell, Crawford Columbus, born 1846
died after 1890
Snell, Cynthia (Johnson), born 1805 Ga.
died 1872
Snell, Nancy Ann, born 1825 Fla. died
1885, second wife of Littleton Green Snell
Snell children buried in other locations include
George W. Snell in Lampasas Co., Texas;
Littleton G. Snell in Waller Co., Texas; Isaac Newton Snell and Lovicey
Jane Snell (Snelling)
in Livingston, Texas; and in Jackson Co., Florida: William
M. Snell, Bennett J. Snell,
Ellen Snell, Robert F. Snell, and Mary Snell.
Mr. L. L. Read who purchased the Snell property in
1902 was born in Mississippi in 1860 and
came to Polk County in 1898. After the death of his wife Eula Rogers
Read in 1902, he married
again to Florence Frances Fenley about 1903. Mr. Read was a farmer
and brick mason. He and
Florence lived together at the "Snell Place" until 1918. Tragically,
in 1912-1913, their children
were infected with typhoid by an unsuspecting guest who had already
contracted the deadly fever,
and five of the children died and were buried in the Snell Cemetery.
A Read child who died in
infancy had already been interred in the Snell Cemetery during the
period 1904-1912.
The five Read children were:
Cora Read, Cordelia Read, Cecil Read, Preston Read, and Zack
Read.
(Preston and Cecil were twins and probably Zack
was a twin to Richard Read who
was a surviving child).
L.L. Read was away in Mississippi when the children
died and FlorenceRead had to bear that
great loss alone and bury her children.
The Read children sold the property in 1949. Apparently
in the 1960's when lumber was
harvested from the property, the cemetery was not protected and it
was destroyed.
Read descendants attempted to find the cemetery in the 1960's but were
unsuccessful.
In April, 2002 a memorial marker by Read descendants
was placed at the grave of Florence
Read at Union Springs Cemetery to the memory of her children
who were buried at the Snell-Read
Cemetery. The marker reads:
"In Loving Memory, Cora, Cordelia, Preston, Cecil, and Zack".