written by John Terry, a 4 great grandson of Sarah Barnes
Submitted by: Pat Morgan

See McDuff Cemetery Listing

McDuff Cemetery--Not lost but found in the piney woods and gently rolling hills of far east Texas. Beautiful little cemeteries such as this are a family heirloom. It is a real blessing that this was not lost in thick vegetation and gone memories.

Something not found on the web, Pat Morgan found this on a fact finding trip to Cass County, Texas. Pat was shown this cemetery by Mary McDuff Brice, great great granddaughter of Micah Barnes McDuff. Mary could explain who the people buried there were except for Sarah Barnes. But Pat knew who she was and explained, “she is how we are related. She is our great great great grandmother ”.

Six related individuals are interred in this cemetery. Five are marked with legible tombstones and one with two sand stones. Three markers are concrete and two are marble.

Four generations are represented; Sarah, the mother, her daughter and son in law, and a great grandchild. Pat thinks the person in the grave marked with sand stones is “most likely” a grandson, George A. McDuff.

McDuff Cemetery is located on private property about two miles north of McLeod on FM251. A small part it is on property owned by Robert Dodson. The larger portion is on an estate to the south that is a tree farm. Mr. Dodson respectfully maintains the cemetery and allows access through his property. To request permission for a visit call Mr. Dodson at phone number 903-796-3918.

Sarah Barnes
Sarah Bevill was born in Maryland in 1788 and was a daughter to Edward T. Bevill and Mary Keeton. About 1805 she married John C. Barnes in North Carolina.

By 1831 they were in Lincoln County, Tennessee and had twelve children. In 1850 they resided in Franklin County, Arkansas. John died in Arkansas during the Civil War of an illness.

Later, Sarah moved to Texas and may have been living with her daughter when she died.

Micah Adeline McDuff
Micah was one of the twelve children of John Barnes and Sarah Bevill. She was born in Lincoln County Tennessee in 1821. She married James Monroe McDuff in 1844 in Marshall County, Alabama. Micah and James settled in Jackson County, Alabama. By 1850 they had migrated to Franklin County, Arkansas and to Texas by 1856.

George A. McDuff
George was a son of Micah and James McDuff. He was born in Jackson County, Alabama and married Hulda M. Wilson in 1866. Matilda A. McDuff was one of their seven children.

James V. Tyler
James V. was the son of William J. Tyler and Sarah Elizabeth McDuff and grandson of James Monroe McDuff. Sarah Elizabeth was the daughter of James Monroe and Sarah Cameron, his first wife.