9 Burials at this cemetery for deaths that occurred between 1846 and 1886 have been recorded at various sources.
“The Cemetery is located off Lawson Road @ 5975 Shannon Road, Mesquite, Dallas County, TX. (Mapsco 70D) (On private property, inside Shaw Ranch horse lot, the house is at top of hill & overgrown monuments, with no protection, are underneath trees & rubble directly to the right side of the lot at the bottom of the hill, behind the house).
“There would naturally be unmarked graves in this area. One survey, Jul 1975 in Balch Springs Historical & Genealogical Society newsletter, indicated 4 markers had been completely destroyed.
“The Cemetery land was originally owned by Virgil Sharpe, and formerly Haught’s Store.”
Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~jwheat/history/haughtcem/haughtslapcem.html
The exact historic boundary of this cemetery is unclear. The original 1883 deed for the cemetery describes a 0.6-acre parcel.
Little above-ground evidence of the cemetery remains. Fragments of broken gravestones, if any, likely no longer exist in their original positions. Cemetery contains an unknown number of unmarked graves. Full extent of burials is not known.
However, it has been designated as a historic cemetery occupied by human graves by the Texas Historical Commission (see below).
Current Status
At some point in the past the Dallas Central Appraisal District determined that this property was no longer going to be designated as a cemetery and thus was taxable property. Attempts to notify Haught descendants were not successful, and the property became the focus of a Citation for a Tax Foreclosure Lawsuit (160th District Court, No. TX-25-00161: Judicial Officer: Carl Ginsberg, filed 01/30/2025).
This was odd considering that the Dallas County Central Appraisal District Legal Description states that this property is a Cemetery….
Fortunately the issue was resolved with this 15 October 2025 court order (information provided by Kathy Ann Reid from the Dallas County Pioneer Association (dallaspioneer.org)).
The cemetery was officially designated as a historic cemetery occupied by human graves by the Texas Historical Commission in November 2025.
Location & Access
Behind/between 5905 Shannon Road and 5975 Shannon Loop. Access appears to be via private property.
- Address: 5925 Shannon Rd. Mesquite, TX 75181
- Legal Description: Samuel Haught Abst 567 PG 696, TR 40 ACS 0.60
- Dallas County Appraisal District Information:
- GPS: Latitude: 32.699586 Longitude: -96.561781
- Adjacent Owners:
- Johnny and Elizabeth Noska
- Jose Guadalupe Cazarez Meza
History/Background
April 16, 2025 email from Linda Haught Ortega:
“Our family came from Illinois to Tx. in 1845, Gr-grandfather S.A. Haught I, served in the 1845 War with Mexico, along with his brother Peter Haught. S.A. Haught I (Sr.) built a home, a general store, a gristmill, a cotton gin, a post office, and planted an orchard at the property adjacent to the graveyard. Gr-Uncle Adam C. Haught was one of the early Sheriffs of Dallas in 1854, he was a colorful character, (His descendants say he is buried in this graveyard).
“Alfred Haught I was a younger brother to S.A. Haught I, he and his brother-in-law, James T. Miller rode horseback from Tx. California in the Gold Rush of 49’, fought the Indians at the Colorado river near Yuma, Az., returned with saddlebags full of gold. Alfred Haught I died from pneumonia in Feb. 1860 at the family home, his headstone was still in the graveyard a few years ago.
“Nephew Thomas Henry Taylor, according to a Texas Muster Roll, was in Darnell’s Regt. CSA; Under Capt. Ed. C. Broder, Enlisted Jan. 15, 1862. He was killed in 1860’s and is believed to be buried in this Cemetery. Alfred Haught II, known as “Fred” Haught brother to S. A. Haught II, was a Texas Ranger serving with the G.W. Stevens Co. Fred went from Texas to Colorado, where he was involved in a gun battle, then walked from Cripple Creek Colorado, to Flagstaff, Az. He is buried in Young, Az. I have in my possession Uncle Fred Haught’s photo album that has photos of his little sisters and others who are buried in this graveyard.
“In 1883 my Gr-grandfather S. A. Haught I (Sr) deeded 6/10 ac. for a Graveyard for his descendants forever. This property had been known as “Haught’s Store,” and is located near the present City of Mesquite. My Gr-Grandfather and Grandfather sold out to Mr. Lawson in 1885 and he and his parents relocated to Arizona.”
“Know all men by these present that Jos. H. Cumby of the County of Dallas, in the State aforesaid, for and in consideration of the sum of one dollars to me in hand paid by M.M. Farmer, S.A. Haught, P.A. Haught Jr and H. Cumby of the County of Dallas….
“The above is deeded for a Grave Yard for the use and purposes of the above mentioned parties and their heirs.”
Analysis
Revised 22 April 2025
The cemetery is located in the Samuel Haught abstract 567 that he acquired on 21 May 1850 (see GLO File Number 001424). Samuel is the son of John Peter Haught.
The cemetery property was sold in 1883 by Jos. H Cumby to M.M. Farmer, S.A. Haught, P.A. Haught Jr and H. Cumby.
- “M. M. Farmer” was most likely Marion M Farmer (b. abt 1834), husband of Sarah J (b. abt 1845) and the father of daughters Ermin E. (b. abt 1874), Ethel N. (b. abt 1877) and Hattie J (b. abt. 1878),
- “S. A. Haught” was most likely Samuel Ache Haught (b. abt. 1822), son of John Peter Haught.
- “P.A. Haught” was most likely Peter Haught (b. abt. 1827), another son of John Peter Haught.
- “H. Cumby” was most likely Samuel H Cumby (b. abt. 1855). His first wife (Julia Haught) died in 1876 and is buried in the cemetery. He apparently had remarried by the time of the 1880 US Census and was living with his wife Rose (b. abt. 1858), daughter Maud (b. abt., January 1880) and brother-in-law Frank Bailey.
At this point it is not known when or how Jos. H. Cumby became the owner of the property.
The presumed relationship between Jos. H Cumby and Samuel (H) Cumby has not been documented.
Note that the property had already been used as a place of burial before the 1883 sale.
Families Associated With This Cemetery
Provided below are some of the names associated with the history of the cemetery with links to information about them in the FamilySearch Family Tree.
- John Peter Haught (1787-1844) & Sarah Jane Cover (1749-1843) – Sons S.A., Peter , Alfred and Adam C. are mentioned in the history of the cemetery.
- Marion McCloskey Farmer (1840 – 1929)
- Samuel Harter Cumby (1853-1929) – reportedly assumed the name “Samuel Bryan-Cumby later in life.
- Index to Marriages – Scott County, Illinois – “C” Film # 007655999 – View Images on Family Search
References & Sources
- This cemetery is documented on the Texas Historical Commission – Texas Historic Sites Atlas: https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details?atlasnumber=7113020203
- Haught (Slapfoot) Cemetery, Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas (contributed by A. C. Morgan) – https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~jwheat/history/haughtcem/haughtslapcem.html
- Haught Store Cemetery, Also known as Slapfoot Cemetery, Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas – https://www.txgenwebcounties.com/dallas/cemeteries/mesquite/haught-store-cemetery.htm (Has information about burials and pictures – the same as the ones linked above – of tombstones)
- Haught Store Cemetery – a/k/a Haught/Slapfoot Cemetery – https://dallaspioneer.org/cemeteries-of-dallas-county/haught-store-cemetery-a-k-a-haught-slapfoot-cemetery/ – Article by Bill H. about the his grandfather, William Asa Holford, who is buried in Slapfoot cemetery.
- Keep It Moving Dallas – State Highways – SH 190 – The East Branch: QUANTM Avoid Zones 3-30-06 – Identified as a cemetery (#76).
- The Dallas Public Library has copies of Texas Kin: R 929.37642 T355 1975 v.4 – hopefully they have the issue that includes the July 1975 survey performed by the Balch Springs Historical & Genealogical Society mentioned on the Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives website.
- Family History by Linda Haught Ortega – 21 April 2025
- Warranty Deed: Sale of property (including the cemetery) by Don Parrish to David Lee Shaw and his wife Carol Jo Shaw (13 September 1978).
- “Exception is here made to specific restricted use of a portion of the property herein for cemetery purposes and specific exception is here made to any portion of the cemetery herein actually used for graves or sepulchers or in which human bodies are interred, together with such areas and the rights of ingress and/or egress thereto as the kindred and/or general public may have;”
- General Warranty Deed: Sale of property including the cemetery by Danny L. Prather and his wife Jan B. Prather to Johnny Noska and Elzabeth Noska (11 September 2003).
- From a 19 May 2025 email from Kathy Ann Reid: “I looked at some deeds and info on the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) website and am attaching a three page scan that shows information on what I think was the actual location of the cemetery vs. the display on DCAD maps. Since DCAD maps showed a confusion of the actual cemetery location, I wondered if the tax collector attorneys were foreclosing the actual cemetery and found that they are because they cited the original deed.” View the three page scan document
- This document (also from Kathy Ann Reid) shows the dimensions of the property.
Files From The Mesquite Public Library
Linda Rogers from The Mesquite Historical and Genealogical Society provided copies of these records she discovered at the Mesquite Public Library on 22 April 2025.
