FREEMAN CEMETERY
WEAKLEY COUNTY, TENNESSEE
WILLIAM E. and MARTHA HOPPER FREEMAN FAMILY
WILLIAM E. FREEMAN (1832-1883) and his second wife, MARTHA HOPPER FREEMAN (1842-1883), may or may not be buried in Freeman Cemetery, but a memorial has been erected by the family for them and their son JOHN D. FREEMAN (1874-1883), as all three are believed to have perished in a house fire. At that time, the remaining children were raised by a variety of other relatives. William and Martha married in 1864 and were the parents of eight children:
IDORA (DORY) FREEMAN WINSETT (1866-1910)
OSIE ANN FREEMAN CROSS (1868-1935)
WILLIA (aka WILLIE) FREEMAN CATE (1870-1933)
PRESLEY EVANS (PRESS) FREEMAN (1876-1945)
CHARLES CEPHUS FREEMAN (1879-1965)
JOHN D. FREEMAN (1874-1883, probably)
ARABELLA FREEMAN THOMASON (1881-1957)
LOUELLA FREEMAN RUTLEDGE (1881-1907)
The oldest child of William E. and Martha Freeman was IDORA, also known as DORY FREEMAN WINSETT (1866-1910), who married JOSEPH SAMUEL (JOE) WINSETT (1864-1932). They were the parents of one daughter, Zelma Winsett, who married Eugene Crockett. Both Idora and Joseph Winsett are buried in Freeman Cemetery.
Osie Ann Freeman Cross (1868-1935) and her husband, John Morgan Cross (1863-1944), are buried in Tansil Cemetery in Sharon, Tennessee. They were the parents of five children:
Vide Mae Freeman Cross Lacewell (married to Leslie Lacewell)
Velma Ira Cross Chappell (married to Jess Chappell)
Dewey Cross (married to Lurline McDurmon Cross)
Joseph (Gus) Cross (married to Wilma Simpson)
John Thomas Cross (died in infancy)
Willia/Willie Freeman Cate (1870-1933) married Leroy Cate (1870-1896). They are buried in Cate Cemetery. They had four children:
Fletcher Cate (1889-1966)
Margaret Ercie Cate Waggener (1890-1977; married to Alton Waggener)
Elizabeth Lee (Bessie) Cate Parham (1892-1977; married to Thelbert W. Parham)
Joel Thomas Cate (1894-1975)
Fletcher Cate (1889-1966) married Carrie Sullivan Cate (1896-1968), and they lived in the community near Freeman Cemetery. Their daughter, Hortense Cate Parrish (1917-2019), who married John D. Parrish, also lived in the community and was a lifelong, generous supporter of the upkeep of the cemetery for many years, even though none of her immediate family is buried there. She was a professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Martin until her retirement in 1980 and afterward resided in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, near her son, Walter Parrish, and his family. She is buried in East Side Cemetery in Martin.
Ercie Cate Waggener (1890-1977) married Alton Thomas Waggener (1887-1980) in 1911. They are both buried in Cate Cemetery in Weakley County. They had five children, four of whose names are known: Agnes Catherine Waggener Danner, Bernard Hester Waggener, Willie Juanita Waggener Brown, and Samuel Dent Waggener.
Bessie Cate Parham (1892-1977) married Thelbert Wayne Parham (1888-1967). They were the parents of three sons and two daughters: Robert Leroy Parham, Thomas Edwin Parham, Phillip Wayne Parham, Jethir Marie Parham, and June Parham Chirban Newton. June Newton and her son, Kelly Newton, are long-term residents of the Freeman Cemetery area. Bessie, Thelbert, Robert, and Jethir are buried in Cate Cemetery. Thomas is buried in Savannah, Georgia, and Phillip near Memphis, Tennessee.
The youngest child of Willia and Leroy Cate was Joel Thomas Cate (1894-1975). He and his wife, Lucile, are buried in Mobile, Alabama.
PRESLEY EVANS (PRESS) FREEMAN (1876-1945) owned land in the community where Freeman Cemetery is located. His first wife, DELLA SUGGS FREEMAN (1879-1917), was the mother of his children. Della's sister FARRAH SUGGS HOGARD and her husband, JAMES HOGARD, are also buried in Freeman Cemetery and are discussed in the Meek and Mahon family page. Press Freeman's second wife was DAISEY TIDWELL BROOKS FREEMAN, and she is also buried in Freeman Cemetery, as is her first husband, LOUIS VINCENT (LUVIE) BROOKS, and her sister, RUTH TIDWELL BROOKS.
To read more about Press Freeman and his family, click below.
Charles Cephalus Freeman (1879-1965) married Rausie Kendal Taylor Freeman (1880-1965), and they were the parents of seven children:
NADINE FREEMAN, who married Garrett Taylor
WILLIAM DOYLE FREEMAN, who married Hazel Darling Freeman
RUBY FREEMAN, who married Nooner Witherington
AUBRY FREEMAN, who married Nell Van Cleave Freeman
FINIS FREEMAN, who married Hazel Prince Freeman
RUTH HELEN FREEMAN, who remained single
DOROTHY FREEMAN, who married Hansel Brundridge
There is no information on son John D. Freeman except that he was born in 1874. Family stories tell of his death in the fire which destroyed the family home around 1883. A memorial has recently been erected for the parents and this child of the Freeman family, as well as recognizing the struggle of the remaining children to survive after losing their parents.
Arabella Freeman Thomason (1881-1957) married Mitchell Walker Thomason (1877-???) , and they were the parents of eight children: Willie (female), Laura, Presley, William, Johney, Lula Bell, Edward, and Mary Frances. They lived in Obion County but their place of burial is unknown.
LOU ELLA FREEMAN RUTLEDGE (1881-1907) was the twin sister of Arabella. She married William Calvin Rutledge in 1901, and they were the parents of three children:
ROSA LEE RUTLEDGE RUSSELL (married to Frederick Russell)
LODELL RUTLEDGE PUGH (married to Jack Pugh)
WILLIAM BOYD RUTLEDGE (married to Lizzie Beth Smith Rutledge)
Lou Ella Freeman Rutledge is buried in Freeman Cemetery. Records indicate that William Calvin Rutledge died and was buried in 1920 in Pulaski County, Arkansas.