The Jackson Cemetery, near Romance, is named for Elisha Jackson, who

owned the land which was set aside for the cemetery. The grounds are

shaded by mulberry, oak and a huge cedar tree, set out by Harriet

Walker, many years ago. At that time, the story goes, there were very

few cedars in this area and they were a very cherished tree.



The cemetery is located south of Romance about two miles and in the days

of free range, the stock roamed the grounds and kept them badly torn up.

Around 1922, Bill Byrd, after burying one of his loved ones in the

cemetery, bought fence and fenced it.



Until the late 1950's, on Memorial Day all day services were held there.

The late Rev. D. A. Honeycutt was in charge of events for many years.



There would be a sermon in both the morning and afternoon, with singing

and proyers. A basket dinner was held at noon, and persons attending

would march up into the cemetery with the American Flag and their

baskets of Flowers to decorate the graves of friends and loved ones. In

the early 1900's, a Mr. Bunch, from near Gainesville, a Civil War

veteran, would dress in his Union uniform and sing, each year the same

song, "Old Faded Coat of Blue." Large crowds would attend these

services.



Among the earliest graves in the cemetery which are marked are those of

J. W. Daniel, buried in 1885, Augusts Rice, 1886 and Frank Crawford, no

date given.



A building was erected in the cemetery in the 1940's for funeral

services. At that time there wasn't any church in the immediate area,

and a place was badly needed for protection in bad weather. Funerals had

been held out in the open or at a graveside. But the building was not

satisfactory and its use for funerals was later dixcontinued. It is now

used for storing tools for cemetery use.



Arles Eslinger, formerly of the area, now of Gainesville, serves on the

cemetery committee as secretary, assisted by Harve Watson, both are

volunteers.



There are 146 graves in the cemetery with more than one-third of the

graves being marked only by large rocks, with no inscriptions upon them.