Suzanne Starling, the author of “Land is the Cry! Warren Angus Ferris, Pioneer Texas Surveyor and Founder of Dallas County”, recently passed away at the age of 89. She was an author, educator, researcher, and historian. Her sharp mind and unwavering tenacity created a beautiful book which was the culmination of 14 years of research on the early west pioneer. She was instrumental in obtaining recognition of the old Ferris burial ground as a Historic Texas Cemetery. A great deal of her research material was obtained from the Ferris-Lovejoy family papers collection housed in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections department of The Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The collection is comprised of 10 boxes which includes correspondence, legal documents, genealogy, memorabilia, poetry, literary manuscripts, photographs, etc. dating from 1771-1964. Upon its inception, the Special Collections Department set a goal to collect materials that document Mormon Americana and materials that document the history of the American west. Because Warren Angus Ferris was known as an early west trapper, cartographer, and diarist, his family documents and his map entitled “Map of the Northwest Fur Country” were purchased and are preserved by BYU.
As a great-granddaughter (X3) of Warren Angus Ferris (WAF), I’ve had great curiosity about the Ferris-Lovejoy collection. I’ve visited the collection 4 times in the past 5 years. Most of the collection is correspondence between WAF and his mother and siblings. The Lovejoy portion of the collection pertains mostly to WAF’s half-brother, A. Clarence (Joshua). It’s a marvelous collection of beautiful letters, poetry, and diaries written by the Ferris-Lovejoy family members. This collection was compiled by Mr. Walter McCausland, a stamp collector and historian.
Within the collection I found quite a bit of information about the Ferris family cemetery. Ferris homesteaded on 640 acres in the area of White Rock Lake, which is now includes the Forest Hills community. Upon the death of his young son in 1847, he donated a plot of land for a community cemetery and buried his child there. Ferris, his second wife Frances, and 5 children are buried there. The Ferris cemetery is now 176 years old. It is estimated that there are over 100 graves in the cemetery.
A great deal of the cemetery history found in the collection was passed from generation to generation through oral tradition. Some of the information may be anecdotal and some may be factual. The following information is taken from letters written to Walter McCausland by descendants of WAF and from contacts who had helpful information. Factual or not, it’s interesting material.
In 1959, J.E. Wade wrote “in 1838, Warren A. Ferris owned 7 to 9 Toby Scrips, each one calling for 640 acres of Texas land. In 1850, when Warren had the contract to survey Dallas County, he moved onto the only section of land which was located in Dallas County. The Warren (Ferris) family cemetery has been desecrated, even the skulls taken out and displayed…and nobody doing anything about it. The Ferris heirs will have to show more interest in the cemetery if they expect help.”
Walter McCausland obtained notes written by 75-year-old Robert Cole, a local resident who lived near the Ferris Cemetery. Mr. Cole recalled "They (Ferris and wife) gave a small plot of land to the community to be used for a burial ground, here both lie buried- the mother died in 1872. He died 1874, one small daughter and son by the first wife, Bud, also buried in the cemetery. The summer of 1890 (I was ten years old at the time), Robert Ferris (son of Warren) and a childhood friend named Wess Chenault, worked to clear the brush and vines from their old family graves and built a fence around their burial lots, as the lots were together. Eighty years ago, this old cemetery had many nice gravestones and markers, but to date, vandals have destroyed and hauled away all these stones.” According to Mr. Cole, Robert’s son, Jack Ferris, said he remembered his father describing this event as well. At that time, the Chenault gravestone was still standing, and the Ferris graves were located.
Mr. Cole also spoke of an old log house located one hundred yards from the old Ferris cemetery. It is assumed that the house described is the old Ferris homestead. “There is where the James boys, Jesse, Frank, and their gang lived in the winter of 1872-73. Here is where they buried their gold. It was taken out the winter of 1889 or 1890. In the old Ferris home is where Sam Bass and his gang lived while planning the holdup of the Texas and Pacific train at Mesquite, which was to be his last, as was shot and killed a while later at Round Rock.” There are no known photos of Ferris or the original homestead, but Mr. Cole stated that there was “a pencil drawing of the old Ferris home from memory- destroyed about 1903 – Forrest Hills - Bonnieview and St. Francis.” This record is held at the Hall of State Library in Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Cole was concerned that neglect, vandalism, and urban sprawl threatened the total loss of the cemetery as only ½ acre remained. He and some Ferris ancestors were unsuccessful in their attempt to have governing authorities preserve the cemetery and have a historic marker erected. The Dallas Times Herald interviewed Mr. Cole and published an article in June 1956 describing the threats to the cemetery and the possibility that it would eventually be “swallowed up” by construction.
1956 Dallas Times Herald article about Warren Ferris Cemetery
Fortunately for the Forest Hills neighborhood and for the descendants of those buried in the cemetery, there’s been great progress made in preserving what remains of the Ferris cemetery. In 1988, the Texas Historical Commission erected a historical marker (#6912) on St. Francis Avenue in honor of the cemetery. As mentioned before, this marker was championed by Suzanne Starling. In 2018, a neighbor of the cemetery, Julie Ann Fineman, founded the non-profit group “Friends of the Warren Ferris Cemetery” with the goal of restoring the cemetery landscape and honoring those buried there. The organization recruits neighbors, volunteers, and descendants to support the restoration. Their efforts are priceless to the community, the city, the environment, and to the Ferris descendants.
The Ferris-Lovejoy documents are available for public viewing but must be done in person. The process of requesting an appointment is done on-line through the L. Tom Perry Special Collection Department website. Collection: Ferris and Lovejoy family papers | BYU Library - Special Collections. The original diary of Ferris’ wanderings from 1830–1835 entitled “Life in the Rocky Mountains” was apparently destroyed in a fire, but the stories were preserved through print in the Western Literary Messenger of Buffalo N.Y. during his lifetime. The entire diary may be read on-line at this website: Introduction to Life in the Rocky Mountains, by W. A. Ferris (mtmen.org)
Descendants of those buried in the Warren Ferris Cemetery and anyone interested in sharing historical information about the cemetery are encouraged to write with stories, additions, and corrections. Please contact me at greyhairfarm@yahoo.com
Written by Christine Cohen.
Great granddaughter (X3) of Warren Angus Ferris. Great granddaughter (X2) of Henry Ferris.
