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Daughters of the American Revolution registrar traces Wakefield family history tied to early Denton County farmland
Summary
Donna Spears, registrar of the Flower Mound chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, presented genealogical research tracing the Wakefield family’s migration and land claims, connecting local burial sites and a DAR grave-marking ceremony held last year.
Donna Spears, registrar of the Flower Mound chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, presented genealogical research focusing on the Wakefield family and related pioneer families with ties to Denton County.
Spears described findings linking Chin Chapel and Old Shiloh cemeteries, homestead filings and deeds in the 1850s, and descendants who remained in western Denton County. She said records in the Texas General Land Office show Simpson Wakefield filed a settlement claim in 1854 and that deeds from the 1850s confirm occupation and cultivation of the land. Spears said two brothers, Simpson and Silas Wakefield, each received about 60 acres under third-class land grants and that those parcels overlay parts of what are now Justin Road, Long Prairie, and Waketon Road.
Spears traced Henry Wakefield, born in 1845, who she said joined the Texas cavalry in August 1862 and served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. She described Henry as a major local landowner who operated a cotton gin and general store and later moved near what is now Ponder. Spears told the commission that some descendants retained land locally and that she identified living descendants who were invited to a DAR grave-marking ceremony for Martha Brockett Wakefield held last year.
Spears showed copies of land survey maps and Texas General Land Office documents and offered three pedigree charts of the Wakefield family created by the Flower Mound DAR chapter as a gift to the commission. She also highlighted notable descendants, including a scholar, and noted connections between local family lines and wider research projects such as Wreaths Across America and the Texas Veterans Hall of Fame Remember Them Forever project.
Chair Norell introduced Spears and thanked the DAR members present. Speakers emphasized the local value of genealogical research for grave-marking, cemetery preservation and interpretation at sites such as Old Shiloh and Chin Chapel.
Spears’s remarks were descriptive historical research and did not propose regulatory actions. The commission accepted the pedigree charts as a donation to support its local history records and programs.
