Abney Cemetery

Abney Cemetery
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The Updated Cemetery Link From Jesse Spurlock
Located on Old Byford Road southwest of Stratford, Oklahoma
Original canvass by Betty Barnett with up-to-date information & map from Jesse Spurlock


Abney Cemetery highway marker, Located on Highway 19, three miles west of Stratford, giving directions to the cemetery.	The Original Abney Cemetery sign that was above the old main entrance. Placed in 1980s, Replaced in 2007.	The new main entrance gate and overhead sign. The old, original wooden sign is now located inside the cemetery.

Cemetery Pics 1 Cemetery Pics 2 Cemetery Pics 3 Cemetery Pics 4 Cemetery Pics 5

From Stratford, the 4 way stop, take 177 south about 1 mile. Turn back west at the first intersection just past Blackburn Field. You will go down this road about 3 1/4 miles. There are 2 stop signs you will come to. Part of the way it will be a dirt/gravel road. The cemetery is right off the road on the north side. It has a gate with a large wooden overhead sign. You can't miss it if you drive down this road until you come to it. Sec 30-4N-3E - Or you can go west from Stratford on Hwy 19, drive 3 miles from the 4 way stop in Stratford. Turn south on the gravel road and go one mile to the first section line. Make a right turn to go west and drive for 1/4 mile. The cemetery is located on the north side of the road.

Information from the Abney Cemetery Record Keeper - Jesse Spurlock

My grandfather was John Wesley Abney. He founded the cemetery on November 13, 1911, with the death of his 2 year old son, Henry, who had died of diphtheria. He fenced off a 1/4 acre site in the southwest corner of his farm, which started the cemetery. Ed Kemp, a friend of the family, died in the fall of 1918 with the Spanish Flu and was buried here. Additional land was donated to the family cemetery in 1985 by Lorene Donahew, whose mother and father are both buried here. Lorene herself was buried here in July 2005.

My mother is Ruth Spurlock, the daughter of J.W. Abney and in recent years, I have fallen heir to maintaining the records for the cemetery. I have complete records of all those who are buried here.

My mother shared with me something about Henry Abney, who was the first to be buried there. I thought it was very interesting. He was just over two years old when an old sick cat came on the place. Little Henry loved on that cat, but his mother was worried because it was obviously very sick. She put it outside the house but Little Henry went out and got it and brought it back in the house. They had to get rid of the cat, but Henry fell ill of diptheria within days of that. They thought he got it from the cat. Grandpa was very concerned about spreading diptheria to anyone else, so he decided to have a private ceremony in the home and bury Little Henry on their farm place, instead of in a regular cemetery. That way they would expose fewer people. However, on the day of the services, "everyone in the country" showed up. No one else came down with diptheria, but Grandpa went ahead and buried Little Henry as planned, fenced off the area, which started the family cemetery.

Burial Order & Map Loc	Name	Birth	Death	Inscription/Comments
	Row 1
1	Henry Abney	8-12-1909	11-13-1911	Died of diptheria at the age of 2 yrs, 3 mos, 1 day. Son of John Wesley & Maud May Abney
4	Baby Abney	7-13-1920	7-14-1920	He was what was then known as a 'blue baby'. Son of John Wesley & Maud May Abney.
5	Lloyd Stinnett	11-13-1920	B and D	Twin brother of Floyd, stillborn, buried in the same grave with his twin. The Stinnetts were close friends of John Wesley & Maud May Abney, but are not related.
6	Floyd Stinnett	11-13-1920	B and D	Twin brother of Lloyd, stillborn, buried in the same grave with his twin. The Stinnetts were close friends of John Wesley and Maud May Abney, but are not related
11	Maud May Abney	9-27-1878	4-18-1951	Died of hardening of the arteries at the age of 72 yrs 6 mos 21 days. She was the daughter of V.B. "David" & Minerva E. Maxwell, and the wife of John Wesley Abney who founded the cemetery see photo & obit
15	John Wesley Abney	10-13-1869	11-30-1964	Cause of death was either old age or a heart attack at the age of 95 yrs 1 mo 17 days. He was a Stratford Pioneer, founder of this cemetery and had established many Missionary Baptist Churches in his lifetime. Was a Missionary Baptist Preacher see photo & obit
10	Clarence Leon Abney	7-9-1921	1-18-1945	PFC US ARMY WWII (in memory of), Clarence Leon was killed in WWII in the invasion of France at the age of 23 yrs 6 mos 9 days. Only his marker is here. His body is buried in the American Cemetery at Epinal (Vosges), France. (video tour of this cemetery) He is a son of J.W. & Maud May Abney. VETERAN - U.S. ARMY see photo
13	John Wesley "Sonny" Abney	10-1-1933	3-24-1959	Okla A2C US AIR FORCE KOREA, "Sonny", died in a traffic accident at the age of 25 yrs 5 mos 23 days. He was a son of Tom Abney who was a son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
46	Katie Mattie Abney	8-22-1907	10-2-2004	The wife of Tom Abney, who was the son of J.W. and Maud Abney. She died Octiber 19, 2004 at the age of 97 years, 1 month, and 10 days. see photo
19	Thomas Isaac Abney	7-27-1905	12-23-1974	Thomas Isaac, Died of a stroke at the age of 69 yrs 4 mos 27 days. He was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney. During his life he was an amateur wrestler, an aggressive checker player and a butcher before entering the field of law enforcement. He held the office of Garvin County Sheriff and the office of Garvin County Commissioner at one time see photo, obit & news True Detective article
40	Glen Thomas Abney	9-8-1942	12-27-2001	Died of heart failure and complications at the age of 59 yrs 3 mos 22 days. He was retired from Kerr McGee Oil Refinery and a retired rancher and cattleman, who was a successful hunter of larger game. He was the youngest son of Thomas Isaac Abney who was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo, obit, and more
26	Vernon Hall Abney	8-29-1915	10-23-1981	Vernon Hall Abney, Died of a heart attack at the age of 66 yrs 1 mos 25 days. He retired from the Oklahoma City Stockyards. He was the son of J.W. and Maud May Abney see photos & funeral card
35	Delma Minnie Hall	3-29-1916	1-3-1995	Died of old age at the age of 79 yrs 9 mos 5 days. She was the wife of Vernon Abney who was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
43	Lillian Minnie Tuley	9-24-1938	1-24-2003	Died of a heart attack at the age of 64 yrs 4 mos. She was the daughter of Vernon Abney who was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & funeral card
a	James E. Tuley	12-15-1932	Living
55	James Ray Eyler	01-27-1945	10-22-2010	Although unrelated to the Abney Family, James Ray "Jim" Eyler was a close friend. With the approval of the Abney family, Jim's family was given permission to bury him in the Abney Cemetery upon his death
	Row 2
3	Minerva Elizabeth Maxwell	8-28-1850	1-19-1919	Minerva Elizabeth. Maxwell, died at the age of 68 yrs 4 mos 22 days of old age. She is the mother of Maud May Abney see photo & obit
8	V. B. "David" Maxwell	12-28-1851	7-27-1925	"David" Maxwell, died at the age of 73 yrs 7 mos of Bright's Disease (kidney failure). He was a retired farmer and is the father of Maud May Abney see photo
7	Jinks Williams	11-15-1922	1928	Died at the age of 6 years when a car ran over him. He is the younger brother Woodrow, who is buried beside him. He is a son of Fannie Maxwell-Williams, sister of Maud May Abney
9	Woodrow Williams	7-02-1914	07-04-1928	He was killed in a traffic accident when he was about 10 yrs old. He was a passenger in one of the cars involved. He was the older brother of Jinks, who was killed in an earlier traffic accident. He was the so n of Fannie Maxwell Williams, sister of Maud May Abney
14	Charles Clyde Williams	4-6-1874	2-15-1962	Died of old age at the age of 87 yrs 10 mos 19 days. He was the husband of Fannie Maxwell-Williams and is buried beside her. Fanny was the sister of Maud May Abney
17	Fannie Bell Maxwell	5-17-1883	5-18-1966	Fannie's maiden name was Maxwell. She was married to Charles Clyde Williams. (Due to an error, her headstone lists her name as "Maxwell".) Died of old age at the age of 83 yrs 1 day. She is a sister of Maud May Abney see photo & obit
24	Howard Williams	10-5-1908	1-21-1981	PVT US ARMY WWII, Died of old age at the age of 72 yrs 3 mos 16 days. He was the oldest son of Fannie Maxwell-Williams, who was the sister of Maud May Abney
32	Jack Williams	11-5-1920	7-11-1992	Died of old age at the age of 71 yrs 4 mos 6 days. He was the son of Fannie Maxwell-Williams, who was a sister of Maud May Abney
20	Jewel Velta Abney	7-30-1903	11-1-1976	Died at the age of 73 yrs 3 mos 2 days. She was the wife of Jesse Lee Abney who was a son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
28	Jesse Lee Abney	8-6-1900	7-31-1985	Died of bladder cancer at the age of 84 yrs 11 mos 25 days. After he retired from farming he was appointed City Marshall of Stratford, Oklahoma, where he served many years. He was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
36	Dorothy Jean Rambo	3-4-1944	8-31-1997	Died in a traffic accident at the age of 52 yrs 5 mos 27 days. She was a retired school teacher from the Wynnewood schools. She was the daughter of Pauline Skaggs who was the daughter of Jesse Abney who was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo, obit & news article
c	Kenneth Gene Rambo	10-10-1943	Living
d	Pauline Skaggs	08-24-1922	Living
42	John D. Skaggs	5-6-1919	7-19-2002	Died of congestive heart failure at the age of 83 yrs 2 mos 11 days. He was the husband of Pauline Abney and the brother of Opal Skaggs, who married Hermon Abney. He was a veteran of the US Army WWII see photo & funeral card
45	Louie Jesse Abney	5-11-1931	8-19-2004	Died at the age of 73 years, 3 months, and 8 days. He was the sone of Jesse Abney, who was a son of J.W. and Maud Abney. see photo & obit
31	John Louis Spurlock	3-14-1909	10-24-1990	John Louis, Died of congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung at the age of 81 yrs 7 mos 10 days. He was a farmer until becoming disabled and then became a grocery store owner until his retirement. He was the husband of Ruth Spurlock, who was a daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
54	Ruth Spurlock	9-28-1913	10-22-2007	Ruth is the daughter and eighth child of J.W. and Maud Abney. She died of a stroke at the Midwest City Nursing Center, Midwest City, OK at the age of 94 years, 1 month, 24 days. On January 14, 1932, she married John Louis Spurlock. Ruth worked her entire life. She worked on a farm, in a grocery store, in a nursing center and in maintenance at the hospital in Lindsay, OK.
34	Louis Leon Spurlock	3-30-1933	1-28-1994	Louis Leon, Died from asbestos in his lungs at the age of 60 yrs 9 mos 29 days. He served in the US Navy during the Korean and the Vietnam wars aboard minesweepers. At the time of his death he was a guard at the Oklahoma State Penitentuary in McAlester. He was a graduate of Bible Baptist College in Springfield, Missouri and was a Baptist Preacher see photo & obit
38	Wanda AliceSpurlock	6-5-1934	9-27-2000	Wanda Alice Benge Spurlock, died of a heart attack at the age of 66 years, 3 months & 25 days. She was the wife of Louis Leon Spurlock, who was the grandson of J.W. Abney see photo & funeral card
B	Jesse Ray Spurlock	1-28-1935	Living
A	Lelia Mae Spurlock	7-20-1940	Living
	Row 3
2	Ed Kemp	ca 1896	Fall 1918	born on an unknown date about 1896 and was about 22 years old at time of death. He died in the Spanish Flu epidemic in the Fall of 1918. He had a wife and child. They were close friends of the Abney family, but are not related
12	Efa Tulley	ca 1884	11-10-1954	born around 1884 and died on November 10, 1954 at about 70 yrs of age of a heart attack. She had joined the Missionary Baptist Church which John Wesley Abney established in Stratford. She was given special permission by J.W. Abney that upon her death she would be buried in the Abney family cemetery. She was not related to them.
18	James Nathan Sizemore	9-8-1905	5-16-1974	James Nathan died of a heart attack at the age of 68 yrs 8 mos 8 days. He worked for a number of years for O.G.& E. in Oklahoma City, but was a farmer in his younger days. He was the husband of Zetta, who was a daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
30	Zetta Esther Sizemore	6-17-1907	5-30-1990	wed J.N. Sizemore 12-23-1931, Zetta Esther, Died of old age at the age of 82 yrs 11 mos 12 days. She spent the last year of her life in the Stratford Nursing Center. She was the daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & funeral card
48	Minerva Elizabeth Sizemore Young	1-22-1934	11-11-2005	wed Raymond Young 9-17-1965. She is the granddaughter of J.W. and Maud Abney. On November 11, 2005, she died of complications from diabetes at a Tulsa , OK hospital, although she resided in Stratford . She was 70 years, 9 months, and 18 days. She was buried November 15, 2005.
33	Raymond Alford Young	10-15-1923	3-16-1993	Died at the age of 69 yrs 5 mos 1 day. He died of lung cancer. He was the husband of Minerva Young who was the daughter of Zetta Sizemore who was the daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo
21	Alfred Ross Young	10-08-1899	8-1-1977	Alfred Young, born Dec 8, 1899 and died of old age at the age of 77 yrs 7 mos 24 days. He was the father-in-law of Minerva Young who was the daughter of Zetta Sizemore who was the daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo
27	James Matthew Fennell	5-17-1985	B and D	son of Wayne & Susan, Stillborn, grandson of Minerva Young who was the daughter of Zetta Sizemore who was the daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney
22	Patrick Wayne Fennell	10-22-1975	7-9-1979	Patrick Wayne, Died of cancer at the age of 3 yrs 8 mos 18 dys. He is the grandson of Minerva Young, who is the daughter of Zetta Sizemore who was the daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
51	Hayden Earl Walton	1-29-59	6-11-2006	He was a close friend of Lorraine Frantz’s family. Lorraine was a granddaughter of J.W. and Maud Abney. He died on June 11, 2006 and was buried on June 14, 2006.
	Row 4
39	Tessie Lois Kingsley	11-23- 1924	1-4-2001	Died of cancer at the age of 76 years, 1 month & 11 days. Upon her death, at her request, her dog was put to sleep and is buried with her in her casket. She was the daughter of Zetta Sizemore and Zetta's first husband, Tom Buff. see photo
52	Edwin Aaron Sizemore	7-22-1938	7-3-2006	He is a grandson of J.W. and Maud Abney. On July 3, 2006, he died of complications from diabetes, at the age of 59 years, 11 months, and 11 days. He was cremated and his ashes placed beside the ashes of his wife, Gene Sizemore. He is the grandson of J.W. and Maud Abney. (VETERAN - U.S. ARMY )
37	Gene Sharron Sizemore	9-21-1931	5-14-1998	Gene died at the age of 67 years, 4 months & 7 days. She was the daughter of J.W. & Maud May Abney, the wife of Edwin Sizemore (son of Zetta Sizemore), and the mother of Amanda Gayle, Kenneth Dale, Nancy Hale & Eddie Sizemore. After her death she was cremated. Her ashes were placed at the foot of the large cedar tree in the center of the cemetery. See photo
23	Daniel Floyd Lindsay	8-24-1959	7-23-1980	PVT US ARMY, Died of a gunshot wound at the age of 20 yrs 11 mos. Although the death was listed as self-inflicted, there was evidence to suggest that he was murdered. He was a grandson of Hermon Abney who was a son of J .W. & Maud May Abney see obit & photo
29	Hermon Floyd Abney	12-28-1917	3-9-1987	HA2 US NAVY WWII, Hermon Floyd, Died of a heart attack at the age of 69 yrs 2 mos 9 days. He was a police officer for the City of Los Angeles, California and was a former Chief of Police of Stratford, Oklahoma. After his retirement from Los Angles he moved to Stratford and maintained the family cemetery until his death. He was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see photo & obit
44	Opal Bessie Abney	6-19-1914	1-21-2004	The wife of Hermon Abney, who was a son of J.W. and Maud May Abney. She died at the age of 89 years, 7 months & 2 days. See photo
41	Erik Michael Aldridge	10-14-1984	6-4-2002	FHM, Killed in a traffic accident at the age of 17 yrs 7 mos 21 days. He was the great grandson of Hermon Abney who was the son of J.W. & Maud May Abney see obit
49	Timothy Glenn Abney	8-10-1961	12-7-2005	He is the son of Leo and Sue Abney and the grandson of Jesse Lee Abney. He died of a heart attack on December 7, 2005 at the Valley View Hospital , Ada , OK . He was 44 years, 3 months, and 28 days. He was buried on December 12, 2005
	Row 5
53	Thomas Parker Denny	09-14-2007	09-14-2007	Thomas was still born. His grangfather, Steven Whedbee, is the step-son of Louie Abney, who is the grand son of J. W. and Maud Abney
	Row 6
47	Marion Lorene Donehew	4-17-1937	7-11-2005	As a courtesy for her parents, Dr. Marion and Adellaco Donehew being permitted burial in the cemetery, she donated additional land to the Cemetery. She fell and broke her hip, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay. She returned home and fell again. She wasn't able to call for help and was discovered sometime later. She expired on the way to the hospital. She died at the age of 68 years, 2 months, and 25 days. see photo & obit
25	Adellaco Beatrice Donehew	2-4-1896	5-7-1981	Died of old age at the age of 88 yrs 4 mos 3 days. S he was the wife of Dr. Marion Donehew and the mother of Lorene Donehew, who gave additional land to expand the cemetery see photo
16	Dr. Marion Donehew	1-4-1878	4-6-1966	Died of old age at the age of 88 yrs 3 mos 2 days. He owned the land next to the cemetery. In 1984, his daughter, Lorene, gave additional land to expand the cemetery. He was a philosopher and was one of the first to receive a doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma see photo & obit
50	Teddy Loren Oswald	9-14-1934	5-7-2006	He was married to Ada Argia Sizemore, the granddaughter of J.W. and Maud May Abney. He died of a heart attack on May 7, 2006 at the age of 71 years, 7 months, and 21 days. He was buried on May 10, 2006. (VETERAN - U.S. ARMY - KOREA and VIET NAM )

Below is a map of graves. The square is the placement of the graves within the cemetery. The number represents the order in which they were buried. (NOT TO SCALE)

This page was last updated on 11/29/10

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