The Fannin, Gibson, Speegle Cemetery

Most folks don't know that in the Loosier Community on land belonging to Harold Bradford is located an abandoned cemetery. Some will refer to this cemetery as the Fannin and some the Gibson, while others will call it the Speegle. Which name is correct? Well who am I to say? I can give a brief history on how it came to be called by the various names and you can decide.

Originally the land was owned by William Fannin who entered it in 1861. After his death on July 4, 1887, the land was passed to his daughter Sallie and her husband Robert Houston Gibson.

The third owners were Joseph and Elizabeth (Gibson) Speegle. Elizabeth was the daughter of Robert and Sallie (Fannin) Gibson, and granddaughter of William Fannin.
Being inherited by descendants of William Fannin caused the name spiral. Therefore giving the cemetery and land the names of Fannin, Gibson, and Speegle.

The cemetery today has only field rock marking the resting-places of some of the early residents of the Loosier community. In March 2003, Clee Terry Lovelady gave the names of some buried there to Elizabeth Green. The names listed were: Robert Gibson, Mary Gibson Oliver, John Gibson, Mary Elizabeth Gibson, Infant of Ider Burden, Estes Terry, John Gibson and Fennell Gibson.

In Jan 2015 Harold Bradford donated research to the Lawrence County Archives which was done by his wife Girley Bradford. The research was of persons buried in the Fannin-Gibson-Speegle Cemetery. Along with her well documented research she also included research about the land where the cemetery is located and reminiscences of her husband (Harold Bradford). We give a great big THANK YOU to her and others who helped her with this project for taking the time to research and record a part of Lawrence County History that otherwise would have been lost. Girley lists 18 people as being buried in this cemetery and includes family trees which shows the family connections.